And the Children Will Lead
by purpleu
Summary: Lydia's kids come to live w/her; can they learn to trust House & can he trust them not to ruin his relationship w/Lydia? The patient is a young man whose parent's think he is using drugs even when House proves he's not. Can House find the source of the patient's seizures & can he win over Lydia's kids? Trust issues are the heart of "And the Children Will Lead"
1. Chapter 1

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter One-"The Path Begins"

By: Purpleu

"The red one or the navy blue one?" Wilson asked. House looked over at him.

"Depends; do you want to look like a politician or the Secret Service agent protecting him?" As usual, House was doing what he was good at: busting Wilson's chops. "Why are you even wearing a tie? If you want to get anywhere with Annie, you really should consider showing a little skin; the poster boy for L.L. Bean look isn't going to get you what you so desperately desire." Wilson rolled his eyes as he walked to his desk. Foreman was holding a meeting in the office they now shared and he retreated to his Oncology office to make the big decision of what to wear on the double date he and House had with Annie and Lydia; House, of course immediately sensed his presence on the floor and appeared in Wilson's office.

"This is my first official date with Annie and I want to make a good impression," explained Wilson as he held the ties up and examined them. "Maybe the navy and gray striped one." House shook his head.

"You are pathetic; you're like a teen-ager going out his first date where he has a chance of getting laid and he's forgotten the condoms. You've been with Annie a bunch of times making the same fashion statement: boring. Annie saw you in a suit when you met. You just spent the weekend with her in polo shirts and khakis when you helped move the ladies in; and then what…four or five hours at Otto's last night with my team and her having wings, beer and whatever. Then when you brought her home, Lydia and I had already left, giving you two a chance to get better acquainted," House turned and looked at Wilson. "And I'll bet you twenty bucks you're no better acquainted now than you were when you first met outside the realtors."

"HA! That's where you're wrong! I kissed her, I kissed her directly on the lips and she kissed me back," Wilson said with a certain air of smugness. "And we kissed more than once. You owe me twenty bucks." He extended his left hand. House looked at it with disdain; he was definitely less than impressed.

"I see why your porn career went nowhere. I can say with utmost certainty, that I am able to count on one hand the number of times you kissed and that there was no tongue involved." House looked up at Wilson; he withdrew his out stretched hand.

"Weren't you the one telling me not to rush things?" Wilson asked as he laid the three ties out on his desk. "That after what Annie had been through she needed time to learn to trust someone again?"

"Yeah, but watching you suffer is annoying the hell out of me. I feel like I should be walking behind you with a mop to wipe up the drool. And picking the right color hangman's noose isn't going to make a damn bit of difference." Wilson sighed and rubbed his hand across his forehead.

"Annie and I had a great time last night; we talked about a lot of things, we laughed, picked songs out together from the juke box, we even started dancing together to "Build Me up Buttercup." House sat there slack jawed and with a horrified look.

"No…. no; tell me you did not do that. Tell me you dirty danced to 'Start Me Up' by the Stones. I can deal with that; but the concept of anyone dancing to a song that has the word 'buttercup' in its title, has more saccharine in it than most diabetics consume in a lifetime."

"NutraSweet is what most sugar free foods have in them now," Wilson pointed out. "Saccharine is passé."

"So is dancing to a song with the word 'buttercup' in the title," House replied. Wilson sat down at his desk.

"She is a sweet, intelligent woman who has a wonderful sense of humor, is immensely talented and has a great view of the world despite what she's been through." Wilson picked up a pen and began tapping it on his desk. "Someone made a recording of the rehearsal session that Annie did last week for the concert on Thursday and she had the CD in her pocketbook when we went out last night; I had her pop it into the player in my car so I could hear it." Wilson shook his head. "I'm not a classical music fan by any means, but I got goose bumps from hearing her play. It was beautiful." House smiled.

"When she emerged from the aphasic state, the first thing she asked for was Lydia; the second was her cello. She needed a few notes from the piano to retune it, rosined her bow and began playing like she had never been away from it. I'm sure she's put in countless hours of practice, but playing the way she does…that passion is something you're born with."

"One more amazing thing about her: her resiliency. Not only to physically come back from the damage the beating left her with, but the psychological damage from that and what her ex-fiancé pulled." House looked surprised.

"I'm out of the loop on this one; I knew about an ex-boyfriend, but ex-fiancé?"

"One in the same person. You know Annie had been seeing someone for about three or four years before they broke up and she met the guy who attacked her." House nodded. "Well, she and Rob were not just dating, but actually engaged; they had met when he was hired by the Philadelphia Philharmonic, also as a cellist. There were a lot of comings and goings at the Philharmonic in the late nineties as they were undergoing financial problems. The position of first chair, the best player in a particular group of instruments, opened up a couple of years after Rob joined the orchestra; guess who got first chair?"

"Annie," House answered with a smirk. "I can see what happened next." Wilson nodded.

"Rob's ego couldn't take the fact that Annie got the position even though she had been there longer, and more importantly was the better musician. He started saying things along the lines of, she got the job because she was 'friendly' with the conductor and musical director. Things got really stupid when he came out and blatantly accused her of sleeping with them; that happened when Annie was selected to play with a guest artist: Yo-Yo Ma. Annie tried to reason with him, but she broke off the engagement after Rob wouldn't stop making the accusations."

"Lydia told me Annie had been tapped to play with Yoga-Man. I'm not a longhair fan either, unless it's Professor Longhair; but I know that name and the prestige that goes along with being selected to play with him." Wilson was about to say something, then stopped and gave House a puzzled look.

"Who's Professor Longhair?" he asked.

"Great blues musician," House answered. "I wouldn't expect you know him since his music doesn't have the requirement of donning a polyester leisure suit before you can warble a note."

"You make it sound like all the music I listen to is nerdy and outdated; I'm aware of modern music." House tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Name one song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers." He dropped his head forward and turned to Wilson, who sat there trying to speak, but to no avail; his lips moved but no sound came out.

"Can you name a song by them?" he finally sputtered out.

"Californication," replied House without missing a beat. Wilson threw his hands up in the air.

"You would know a song with that word in its title." House reached back behind his head, interlaced his fingers, and rested his head on his palms; he had a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Tell me one thing that's wrong with it," he said as he closed his eyes. Wilson let out a deep sigh.

"Absolutely nothing," said Wilson wistfully. House glanced over at him and realized it would be a good idea to change the subject.

"So what kind of music did Annie pick from the nickelodeon?" Wilson laughed.

"Nothing costs a nickel any more. I don't know how much money we pumped into the machine, but between all of us, we kept it going all night. Her tastes were…eclectic, really spread out all over the place. She played everything from 'Edge of Glory' to 'Jailhouse Rock' to 'Hot Stuff' to 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. When I asked what type of music was her favorite, she said good music."

"Spoken like a true musician," House said. Wilson rapped his knuckles on the stack of paperwork occupying the corner of his desk.

"You really think I should go without the tie?" House's eyes flew open and he leaned forward toward Wilson.

"Let's see how many more ways can I tell you not to wear a tie? I know…Don't wear a tie!" he said firmly. Wilson eyed him suspiciously.

"What are you wearing?" he asked.

"No tie, if that's what you're worried about," said House. Wilson continued to look skeptical; House caught sight of his expression and decided to just give in. "I am wearing one of two suits I own, the black one; a blue shirt, socks, no underwear and these babies." House swung his left leg up and placed his foot on to Wilson's desk; there on his foot, was a black dress shoe. Wilson did a double take.

"What the…that isn't a sneaker," Wilson noted.

"Really?" House said as he looked at the shoe. "I hadn't noticed."

"I've never seen you wear anything but sneakers and motorcycle boots. Oh, and hiking boots when we went camping. So what's with this?"

"Lydia made a comment that she's never seen me wear anything except sneakers and that the only other footwear in my closet were the aforementioned boots. I told her that ever since my leg happened, I've never worn anything that didn't have a rubber sole; mainly for the purpose of avoiding winding up on my ass. She pointed out that lots of dress shoes have rubber soles; she didn't get all 'Let's go shoe shopping' but I figured it would give her a cheap thrill if she saw I bothered to get a pair. And her cheap thrills would then lead to my cheap thrills later on."

"In other words, you're manipulating her," Wilson said. House looked wounded.

"I don't need to manipulate her to get her into my bed, if that's what you're implying. She's very happy with what happens there." House stared off. "We both are." Wilson smiled.

"A lot better than the hookers, I would imagine." House shot him a look.

"How would you know? You've never been with a hooker in your life except when you were too drunk to remember what happened."

"I've slept with women I've barely liked, and I've slept with women I've been passionately in love with; while the love didn't last," Wilson said sadly, "I remember the feeling; being passionately in love with your partner is a hell of a lot better." House nodded.

"And dangerous," he noted as he stood up. Wilson looked surprised.

"Dangerous is not a word I would associate with being passionately in love." House began to pace.

"It is if your mind starts wandering to places and things you've never considered before." Stunned, Wilson waved a finger at House.

"Don't even joke about this; there is no way you are even remotely considering the 'M' word." House winced.

"Of course not; why would I even consider Mattafattafortasite?"

"Matta…what? What the hell is that?"

"The stuff that, according to my grandfather, could fix anything that was broken around the house; I was six or seven before I found out the rest of the world referred to it as duct tape." Wilson now also stood; he moved around the side of his desk to where House was standing.

"House, don't make light of the subject; that's not fair to play with Lydia's feelings like that." He put his hands on his hips and gave House a stern look.

"I'm not trying to play with Lydia's feelings or my own; I'm not joking." House continued to fidget nervously while Wilson regarded him in disbelief.

"What prompted this?" Wilson asked.

"The fact that I'm confused as hell," House said as he plopped down onto Wilson's sofa. "Let's assume that we regard dreams the same way that we do hallucinations from a barb coma; that they represent your inner hopes and fears. Well, I had a dream on Friday when I was recovering from my encounter with Hunter: a suburban street, same as you see hundreds of times in hundreds of towns across the country. Right out of "Father Knows Best," noted House. "I pull into the driveway, get out of the car….I'm still limping, I still have my cane; but I'm not in pain. These two rug rats run up to me, they're Lydia's kids and they say 'Hi, Daddy' and give me a hug. The next thing I know, Lydia comes out of the house, holding a boy about two years old. She says, 'Look, Daddy's home' and hands me the kid; she gives me a kiss, tells me to take 'little Greg' inside because dinner's ready…then I woke up." House had been staring at the floor while relating the dream to Wilson; now, he looked up at his friend for a reaction and some reassurance. For Wilson, it was startling, a lot to take in; he could only imagine how House felt.

"I…I don't even know where to begin. I would think this is all in response to Lydia's kids coming in to start living with her on Friday. I know you're more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of meeting them," Wilson said.

"I'm terrified; this is a make it or break it deal for Lydia and me. We've gotten through a bunch of crap this past week, dealt with a lot of issues from the past; we've got a long way to go…and damn it, I don't want to screw this up. But I can't see myself dealing with all the responsibilities that go with kids."

"You can't even be responsible for yourself half the time," Wilson chided. House shot him a look, but didn't respond.

"I'll probably get along better with the boy than the girl. Monster trucks and booger jokes I can deal with; Barbie dolls and tea parties are outside of my realm of expertise."

"Look, let's start with the basics; what are the kids' names? Because you'll stand a much better chance of winning them over if you actually know their names," Wilson pointed out. House let out a long sigh.

"I know her son's name is the same as her ex's; but since I like to refer to the ex as jerk or douche bag, I know that's not the kid's real name. That wouldn't be in keeping with Lydia's more conservative nature; not to mention that the cretins in his class may give him a name similar to that depending on how he handles being the new kid in town. And I know what that feels like." Wilson jumped off the edge of his desk and moved toward House.

"There's a starting point, something you can help the kids with. God knows, you probably haven't told me everything you went through as a kid; maybe you haven't even told Lydia. But you can tell the kids how you felt. You don't need to relate specific events; just enough of the general feeling you had so they can see that…you're one of them." House nodded his head slowly; he knew Wilson was giving excellent advice, but he still felt troubled.

"So why, Dr. Freud, am I dreaming about domestic bliss and white picket fences?" House thought for a moment. "Unless the pickets are phallic symbols," he said hopefully. Wilson sat on the arm of the couch at the opposite end of the sofa from House.

"Do you think you could concentrate for a moment on what's important?" asked Wilson.

"I am," replied House.

"I meant the kids; because if you don't win them over, you and Lydia will have reached an obstacle that you may not be able to overcome."

"Yeah," House said dejectedly. "The little nippers are the key to this whole thing working." Wilson's eyes opened wide; he was having a House-like epiphany.

"Keys," he said looking at House and smiling. "You're the guy that got their piano back for them; didn't Lydia say how upset they were that she sold it?" House considered Wilson's words as a slight smile formed.

"I don't know if she told them yet that it's back; I think she's keeping it a surprise for them. I guess knowing I had something to do with its return should score some points. I've also gotten them each a new soccer ball since their sperm donor lost both of theirs. He didn't see the point to getting them new ones since they were moving here; he figured Mommy could take care of it. Of course he lost them three weeks ago."

"How did he manage to lose both at once?" House shook his head.

"He got pissed off at something they did when he took them to a park; he grabbed one ball and punted it out of sight and then grabbed the other and did the same. Luckily he didn't try and do that to the kids," House said wryly. Wilson looked at House cautiously.

"I know Lydia said he never hit them; he threatened to, which was bad enough. But you don't think…."

"No, Lydia would have told me about that. I think he roughed _her_ up more than she's letting on." House squeezed his eyes shut. "Judging by her reaction to certain things, I'm sure he raped her more than once." He looked over at Wilson. "Let's face it: no means no whether you're married or not. Unfortunately, I think the kids must have heard what went on." Wilson stood up and moved toward his desk.

"Those poor kids have a lot of emotional and psychological damage to overcome; that in and of itself is going to be a handful, but maybe you can use it to your advantage," said Wilson.

"You know, for a guy who was ragging out on me before over the fact that I was supposedly 'manipulating' my girlfriend, you are forthcoming and masterful with suggestions on how to be manipulative," House replied.

"I was merely going to point out to you that when the kids see how well you treat Lydia, how happy you make her, it is definitely going to work in your favor." Wilson picked up the water bottle on his desk and took a swig. House was leaning forward, his hands folded in front of him, his gaze fixed on a spot in the floor; Wilson knew what was on his mind and he figured he might as well address it.

"As far as the 'why' for the whole domestic image you had, haven't you always wanted the chance to see if you were a better parent than your father was? Here's the perfect opportunity coming your way," Wilson pointed out.

"Yeah, but if I screw it up…"

"You're not going to," Wilson interrupted. "Lydia won't let you. She protective of her kids and she's protective of you. She'll guide both sides to the right meeting point." House continued to look down at the floor. Wilson rolled his head and let out a big sigh. "House, what is it?"

"I don't think anyone who's ever dealt with me would confuse me with Ward Cleaver," House said referencing the old television show "Leave it to Beaver." He stood up and started to pace as he did earlier. "Why was I thinking about getting married and moving into some cute little icon of suburban life? I've lived the same way, in the same place, doing the same things for years; why would I think about changing it now?"

"One word," Wilson said, "Lydia." House stopped and turned to look at Wilson. "I know she's just asking you to be more open to other ways of looking at and dealing with life; she's not trying to change you. But there was a very subtle change when you came back from Mayfield. You kept drifting off into your own little world and all of a sudden, you'd smile; now, of course, I know you were thinking about Lydia. Usually around those times, you were calmer, happier, you joked around more; the signs of change were all there, I just didn't know what to make of them."

"Neither did I; that was part of the problem. I knew being with Lydia was what made me realize I wasn't better off alone; that I wanted someone I could open up to and trust and share things with and have fun with. But since Lydia wasn't available and Nolan pushed me to actively pursue Cuddy, I did," House said with a shrug. "You and she had been the only two constants in my life besides pain; it seemed like a good idea. Now I'm glad it didn't work out, that we didn't try and make a go of it except in my delusions from the coma; I think I would have been too afraid to fall in love with Lydia again." Wilson laughed.

"What do you mean, again? I don't think you ever stopped loving her, even after you parted company at Mayfield." Wilson thought for a moment, his eyes darting about. "That's why you dreamt about being married to Lydia; for the first time in your life, you have someone you can actually see it working with." House hung his head as he walked back to the chair in front of Wilson's desk.

"This shouldn't be the first; I should have seen it with Stacy and I didn't. I don't know why not," he said as he sat down.

"No, not should, could; but you didn't and for a good reason. She waited until you were placed in a coma and made a decision that she knew went against your wishes because she was desperate to make sure you stayed alive. As much as I disagree with the way she went about it, I'm forever grateful for the end result." Wilson sat down in the other chair by his desk. "After the way she went about things….House, you could never trust her again. Believe me, you can't be in love and try to build a life with someone you can't trust." House smiled a little.

"Lydia said the same thing to me the other day; we were talking about trust issues and she pointed out I couldn't trust my parents the way a child should be able to. And I couldn't trust either Stacy or Cuddy for the way they handled things with my leg. She said their actions showed no respect toward me and my intelligence, and you can't trust someone who doesn't respect you." Wilson reached for his water bottle.

"You have a very wise and lovely lady there," he said as he took a drink.

"My best friend is just as wise and lovely," answered House sarcastically as he glanced at Wilson. "I came in here just to BS and yank your chain a bit and I turn it into a therapy session."

"That's OK; I'm sure I'm going to need plenty of them down the road if things work out between Annie and me." Wilson looked at House and could see that he was still rolling things around in his head. "Look, I'm not telling you to go ring shopping tomorrow; take your time, see how things work with the kids, make sure that things really are that good with Lydia. Although, honestly, from the first time I saw you two together…I just had this gut feeling that you'd finally found the right woman, someone who could handle the uniqueness that is Gregory House," Wilson said with a teasing tone. "You two just look like you belong together."

"That's sure as hell what it feels like," said House as he let out a sigh.

"Then for now, just enjoy the feeling and see where things lead. What time is our reservation?" asked Wilson.

"Eight. I told the femme fatales we'd pick them up at seven thirty."

"That will be fine; I've got some paperwork I've got to do. I'll work a little here, go home, get ready…the timing should work out great." House headed to the office door with Wilson right behind him.

"I want to see what kind of cases my team is looking over; their idea of interesting and mine usually exist in two different spheres of thought."

"Hey, I was thinking maybe we should show up with something nice for the girls," Wilson said.

"Why?" asked House as he reached for the door knob. "They have us." Wilson gave him a look.

"I was thinking flowers." House thought for a second.

"Roses?" Wilson nodded. "Fine. We can meet at Country Arts and Flowers at seven and pick something out together; don't want one of us to outshine the other. This way we can make sure we're even." Wilson shook his head.

"That is so…high school."

"Yeah," House said as he opened the door. "And you're acting like a kid on his first date. I swear if your voice cracks at dinner, I'm going to start calling you Andy Hardy." Wilson laughed; he could tell by the way House was cracking jokes and busting his chops that he was in a much better mood than before. There was, however one more subject he need to bring up….

"House," Wilson called to him as he had started to walk away.

"Yeah?"

"What are Lydia's kids' names?" House looked down the hallway toward his office, then down at the floor.

"Ben and Elise," he answered. House started to walk again, then turned back. "Thanks, Wilson."

"No problem. See you at seven so we can sweep a couple of ladies off their feet." Chuckling to himself, House continued down the hall to his office….

It was seven o'clock on the dot and Wilson sat in his car, nervously drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He was parked a few doors down from the florist, waiting for House to arrive. This is so stupid, he told himself. I spent the evening with Annie last night; I kissed her, although according to House it barely counted. Why am I so nervous? Then he realized that last night wasn't a matter of him actually asking Annie out; it was part of a great conspiracy to surprise Lydia with her repaired rocker and retrieved piano. This was them going out as a couple, with another couple, who just happen to be House and Lydia. Wilson smiled; he and House were going on a double date. If anyone had ever mentioned that to him, even as just a possibility, he would have told them it was a joke. And yet, here he was, waiting rather impatiently for House who was now four minutes late; suddenly, his cell phone rang.

"Where are you?" Wilson asked; he recognized House's number as soon as it came up.

"Sick as a dog," House answered in a nasally, scratchy voice. "Working in the pediatric ICU all last week, God only knows what I was exposed to from those little brats." Wilson's eyes bugged out in horror.

"You never get sick; are you sure you didn't just have something temporarily irritate your sinuses?"

"I'm a doctor, in case you forgot; I think I'd know when I'm sick."

"Did you take anything? Did you try drinking some tea? Maybe take a spoonful of honey? A shot of Brandy?"

"Slow down; the next thing you're going to suggest is peyote."

"If it works, fine. House, you are coming out to dinner tonight. This was supposed to be a double date…I can't do this alone."

"Yes you can it's called…a date. What is wrong with you?" Wilson let out a sigh.

"I don't know, I'm just…I had this vision of us taking the girls out together and I liked the idea that my best friend and I were getting the chance to do something that…I never thought we'd get the chance to do and…"

"Look in your rear view mirror, moron." Wilson, startled at hearing House's voice sounding normal, slowly lifted his eyes to the mirror and watched as House hit a button on his cell phone to disconnect the call.

"Son-of-a-bitch!" Wilson muttered under his breath as he hung up his phone and got out of the car. House was already on the sidewalk when Wilson caught up with him.

"I suppose you think that was funny? Scaring me half to death, making me think I was going to have to face this alone?" House was smiling.

"What I think is funny is the fact that you, who have been married three times, are actually afraid to go out alone with a beautiful woman. I find that absolutely hilarious."

"Oh, yeah?" Wilson said, waving a finger at House. "Well, let me tell you something, that…that was…" As Wilson spoke, House's expression changed from smiling to a smirk, with a "give me a break" look clearly written on his face. "That was…funny as hell," Wilson said as he started to laugh. "Why did you do that?"

"Cause you're more nervous than a male dog who's figured out that this vet visit is going to be different from all the others." House looked at Wilson and frowned.

"What…what's the matter?" Wilson asked.

"You're the first guy I've ever met who's managed to use his shirt as a chastity belt," House said. "It's great that you're not wearing a tie; but you also have to undo a couple of buttons, too." Wilson looked down at his collar.

"I did."

"No, you left open one button; the one every guy with an ounce of sense leaves open cause they know the tie knot will hide the fact that it's not buttoned. You need to open a few more than that if you want this evening to end in ecstasy." Wilson rolled his eyes.

"Alright," he said as he fiddled with his shirt. "There." He had undone one more button. House shook his head.

"You've been willing to take the chance three times on having a lasting relationship with a woman, but you're afraid to do what's necessary to get this one started." Reaching over, House undid the next button on Wilson's shirt; Wilson tried to squirm away, but he didn't want to hurt House. "There. Now you're sending the proper message." Wilson walked over to House's car and looked in the side view mirror.

"I…I'm not very comfortable with this," Wilson said, checking out his new look repeatedly.

"You will be. Think of it this way," House said. "You're being nice to Annie; you're giving her a head start." House started walking toward the florist as Wilson stood there considering what House said. Wilson slowly began nodding his head in agreement as he followed House into the store.

After looking around for a few minutes, each had made their decision: Wilson selected white roses with a touch of hot pink running along the edge of each petal. House picked a combination of roses in three different colors: lavender, a soft pink and ivory. Once they were done up with baby's breath and greens, both bouquets looked spectacular. House saw the assortment of cards to include and grabbed one on which he wrote, "Fraulein, Ich Liebe Dich. Greg." Not to be outdone, Wilson took a card and after thinking for a moment, wrote, "Annie, Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel. James." It was the title of a song they had both selected from the jukebox the night before.

After paying and returning to their cars, House and Wilson drove off to pick up Lydia and Annie. As House was about to make the left onto Lydia's block, he gave her a quick call.

"Hi, hon." House couldn't help himself; he smiled as soon as he heard her voice.

"Hi, Fraulein; we're turning onto your block now."

"Great. Annie and I are upstairs; the front door is open."

"Good. You get the elevator put in yet?" Lydia let out a sigh.

"No, new tenants just moved in and they are being a pain in the butt about getting anything done around here." House smiled.

"I'll see you in a minute." He ended the call as he pulled up by the house; Lydia had parked in the driveway, but there was enough room for him to pull in behind her so he wouldn't have to walk very far. Wilson parked behind Annie, in front of the house. The guys met at the bottom of the steps and House started what seemed to be the endless trek up the stairs.

"Are you going to be OK with this?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah. Peachy." House slowly navigated the stairs and made it to the front door. Pausing for a second to take a deep breath, House opened the door and climbed the rest of the way into the house; if it weren't for his injuries from last Thursday, he would have had no trouble dealing with the climb. When he and Wilson reached the top of the stairs, both broke into huge grins at the sight that met their eyes.

Lydia and Annie were standing by the rocker; it would be hard to argue which one looked more beautiful. House and Wilson would never be able to describe the clothing in any detail, other than they were both showing a nice amount of leg and cleavage, but nothing too flashy. House did note however, that Lydia was wearing an off-the-shoulder top, showing off her very sensitive shoulders; it was an open invitation for fun later in the night. What topped off the ladies look the best, was the expressions on their faces as the guys walked toward them with the roses.

"Good evening, ladies," Wilson said as he handed the flowers to Annie.

"Oh…James, these are just beautiful! You didn't have to do this."

"No, I didn't have to, I wanted to," Wilson said as he looked into her eyes. "There's a card there, too." House and Lydia smiled as they watched the scene between their best friends.

"There were some extras lying around the flower shop, so I told them to wrap them up, rather than throwing them in the trash," House said as he gave the roses to Lydia.

"How very, very green of you," she noted with a smile.

"Yeah, well green is your favorite color." House reached over and lightly ran his fingers along the edge of her blouse, up over her shoulder and along the edge of the blouse on her upper back. He had to hold himself back from doing more as he saw her visibly shudder. "There's a card for you, too." She looked at him with such a devilish twinkle in her eyes, he wasn't sure if they were going to make it to dinner or not.

"Thank you," Lydia said. She leaned in to give him a kiss and whispered in House's ear, "Right now, I'm hungry for food, but later on will be a different story." She looked down as she moved back away from House; he saw from the expression on her face, that she had spotted his shoes.

"Those are very nice shoes you have on," Lydia said. The tone in her voice showed she was clearly impressed.

"Yeah, this beautiful woman I know tried to tell me that dress shoes came with rubber soles; but I was sure she was lying. So I checked it out and sure enough, she was telling me the truth." Lydia gave him a look.

"And why would you think she was lying?" House ran his fingers along the top of her shoulder.

"Cause she's a big fan of the movie 'Pinocchio.'"

"They look very nice on you," said Lydia. She moved forward to put her lips near his ear again. "And I suppose you're going to tell me that I help make things grow bigger." She gave him another kiss, more lingering than before; House closed his eyes and found his imagination running wild. He knew exactly what he wanted for dessert. As Lydia backed away, she turned to Annie.

"Can I see your…?" She was about to ask Annie if she could see her roses, but Annie and Wilson weren't standing where they had last been seen. House looked into the dining room and kitchen, but there was no sign of them.

"Annie?" Lydia called out.

"Wilson?" House joined in.

"We're…just putting the flowers in water…we…we'll be right up," Annie called out from downstairs. House and Lydia gave each other a look.

"They're putting the flowers in water," said Lydia with more than a little note of sarcasm in her voice.

"Right…." she and House said simultaneously. They both laughed as Lydia picked up a vase that she had set on a table next to the rocker.

"I'm going to put these in water," she said as she headed to the kitchen.

"For reals?" asked House, somewhat disappointed.

"For reals," Lydia confirmed.

"Damn," House said snapping his fingers. He heard the sound of movement from downstairs and in a moment, saw Wilson with a somewhat flushed face coming up the stairs and Annie right behind.

"Oh, I forgot my pocketbook! I'll be right back," Annie said as she ran down the stairs. House walked over to where Wilson was perched near the top of the steps.

"Was I right?" House asked. Wilson gave him a look.

"I am never doubting you on the subject again." House smiled and made his way down the stairs as he saw Lydia was ready to go.

They arrived at The Italian Gardens with plenty of time to spare; the valets handled the cars and the two couples went inside. House and Wilson had chosen the restaurant wisely; it was romantically lit with a small candle arrangement on each table, plush comfortable chairs and the sound of live piano music coming from the corner of the restaurant. They were quickly shown to their table on the opposite side of the room from the piano which would make conversation easier; once seated, everyone started looking over the wine list. While wine wasn't House's usual poison, he chose not to be odd man out. After a few moments, they decided to get one bottle of red and one of white to suit everyone's taste. House called the waiter over.

"We'll have a bottle of Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio and a bottle of Coppola Claret."

"Certainly, sir," the waiter said and gathered the wine lists from the others at the table.

"How did you know which wines we wanted?" Wilson asked. "You didn't give us a chance to say which ones we liked."

"You said plenty; the two of you," House said indicating Lydia and Annie, "Mentioned the Claret several times. And all three of you mentioned the Pinot Grigio." House shrugged. "Majority wins."

"That works fine for me," Wilson said. "I was just worried we wouldn't get something that everyone would like."

"Wilson," Lydia said. "Be not afraid." The instant look of horror on Wilson's face was more than Lydia could handle; though she tried her hardest not to laugh, she had to put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile and her upper body began to shake with poorly concealed laughter. Wilson, who hadn't said a word, finally managed to speak.

"I don't believe he told you." He turned to House. "I don't believe you told her." Annie could see that Wilson was getting agitated but couldn't understand why; she was very confused.

"Told her what?" House asked innocently. At that moment the waiter arrived with the wine; he opened both bottles, poured one glass of the white and one of the red. House sampled the Claret and nodded in approval; Wilson took a larger than was appropriate drink of the Pinot Grigio and managed a feeble nod of consent.

"What may I pour for the ladies?" the waiter asked.

"The Pinot," answered Lydia.

"The Claret," said Annie. As the waiter went through the motion of pouring the wine, all Wilson could do was stare down sadly at the table. Once all the glasses had been filled and the waiter left, he quickly began to speak.

"Look, I was young, I needed some money; I had no idea that the footage was going to be used in a porn movie."

"You were in a porn movie?" Annie didn't even try to conceal her reaction: utter disbelief. Lydia was laughing so hard, she had to set her glass of wine down on the table.

"I didn't…actually _do_ any of the parts that would be considered porn; the guy who was making the movie tried to make it look like I was a participant in the acts, but it wasn't me." Wilson looked at Lydia who laughing so hard, she had tears coming down her cheeks. "I don't believe he told you," he said shooting a glance at House.

"I didn't," House said. "You just did." Wilson closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You sneaky bastard," he said. House spread his arms apart.

"Hey, why should I do all the dirty work around here? You stuck your foot in your own mouth just fine." The girls meanwhile had managed to calm their laughter.

"Greg just told me in the car that at some point during dinner, I had to say to you, 'Be not afraid' and watch your reaction," Lydia said.

"It's OK, James," Annie said. "When you're young and stupid, we all do things we regret."

"Yes, we do," Lydia said pointedly as she looked at her best friend. Annie was now the one to look horrified.

"Lydia…I wasn't ready to talk about that yet." Lydia looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"It would seem to me that this is the perfect time." Annie let out a sigh.

"OK," she said with great resignation. "When I was in college….I was a lingerie model." Wilson looked puzzled.

"What's wrong with that? Victoria's Secret has made lingerie modeling quite respectable," Wilson said. House was smiling; he had caught on right away.

"Wilson, I think the type of modeling Annie did was a little closer to…oh, I don't know, Frederick's of Hollywood?" Annie put her head down and nodded as she bit her bottom lip and Wilson could see she was getting embarrassed; his situation was funny, hers, considering what she had been through for ten years was not.

"I'm sure you didn't show anything more than ….what could be seen at the beach. And I'm sure you looked wonderful doing it," he said as he took her hand to reassure her that it was OK. Annie looked at Wilson gratefully for not being judgmental.

"How about a toast?" Lydia asked, sensing it was time to move things along. "To ancient secrets," she said as she raised her glass, "shared only among best friends."

"Here, here!" Wilson said.

"Cheers!" Annie said.

"Prost!" House added in, which made Lydia smile. They all clinked glasses and sipped their wine as they laughed over the shared confessions.

"Are you ready for menus?" the waiter asked as he returned to the table.

"Yes, please," House said smiling as he reached for Lydia's hand and took in the happy scene before him.

The food for the evening was scrumptious; the company and conversation was even more fulfilling. Shrimp Fra Diavolo, veal Sorrento and lobster ravioli were accompanied by talk of best friend adventures, mistakes made and lessons learned. Even House and Wilson had to admit, they learned a little bit more about each other than they knew before.

"Anyone want anything else?" House asked. "Amaretto, Biscotti, Zepoles…everything from A to Z."

"Not for me," Lydia said.

"Me either," said Annie. House looked at Wilson who shook his head.

"Then let's snag the waiter and settle the bill; I've got an idea for a good follow up to this," House said looking at Wilson.

"Well, I'm just going to use the ladies room before we leave," Lydia said as she stood up.

"I'll join you," Annie said.

"You ladies go flock; we'll be here," House said with a smile. The two women left for the ladies room and as soon as they were out of earshot of the table, they began to talk.

"Are you having a good time?" Lydia asked.

"I…I am having a wonderful time. The card that James put with the flowers, said 'Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel'; that was the name of a song that he kept playing for me last night. I know it might seem a bit corny, but I thought it was sweet; he's trying to be so gentle and caring with me…I love it. I feel like I'm actually being romanced."

"You are," said Lydia. My card said 'Ich Liebe Dich'; I feel so lucky and I think it so amazing that I wind up falling in love with someone who speaks German." Annie stopped walking and turned to Lydia.

"I'm so glad you have Greg; you deserve so much happiness after all my idiot brother put you through. It looks like he's the one to bring it to you." Lydia nodded and smiled.

"He is. And how do you like James?" Annie looked away from Lydia for a minute, but Lydia could still see the tears welling up in Annie's eyes. Lydia reached out and touched her on the arm.

"I think…no, I know," Annie said as turned back to Lydia with a smile, "that I'm falling in love with him."


	2. Chapter 2

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Two-"Down a Darkened Road"

By: Purpleu

House placed his right elbow on the table and rested his head against his upraised hand. With a slight smile and a gleam in his eyes, he watched Lydia and Annie walk away from the table; of course, he was paying more attention to Lydia than Annie. But he had to admit to himself that idea of Annie being a lingerie model back in the day, was a bit intriguing. Well, more power to Wilson, he thought.

"Gentlemen, would you like coffee…espresso…cappuccino…dessert?" The waiter had wheeled over a cart with an assortment of pastries that looked out of this world; but House knew that everyone had consumed enough food for now, especially since he had a treat in mind at their next stop.

"Just the check." The waiter nodded and moved the cart away from the table. House looked over at Wilson and chuckled; the Mona Lisa could not look more serene. Staring off into space with a slight smile on his face, Wilson was in a very happy place.

"Wilson." No response. "Yo, Wilson." He remained in his own little world. House frowned and let out a sigh of frustration over not getting an answer. He leaned over and quietly said,

"Do you know scientists have found that most lingerie models have a third nipple?" That did the trick. Wilson gave his head a shake and looked at House.

"That's so ridiculous; it can't possibly be true…can it?" Wilson asked.

"I don't know; but play the game right and in a couple of hours you may find out for yourself," House said.

"I don't want to play games with Annie; given her background that's the stupidest thing I could do."

"Here you are, gentlemen." The waiter placed the check between House and Wilson. The two leaned in so they could both view the bill at once.

"I guess we'll just split it?" Wilson suggested. House nodded as he took out some money.

"I'll give you my share in cash and you can take care of your half however you want." He handed Wilson the bills. "That should cover the tip, too." Wilson took the money and counted it; House looked on in annoyance. "You had to check? You didn't trust me to give you enough?"

"I trusted you; I was checking to make sure you didn't give me too much," protested Wilson. House looked at him skeptically.

"When was the last time that happened?" House said, admitting to his reputation for being cheap.

"True, that hasn't happened….anytime ever that I can recall; then again, a lot of strange things are going on here tonight," Wilson said as he tugged at he open collar of his shirt. He took out his wallet and removed his credit card; he placed it on top of the check and signaled the waiter. "You think Annie's having a good time?" he asked.

"I think she's having a great time; and if you're just willing to play around a little, she'll have an even better time."

"House, I don't want to do that to Annie…"

"Oh, yes you do; I know these two ladies better than you do, so shut up and listen," admonished House. "After Lydia's father passed away, she and her mother had to move out of the embassy digs and find another place to live. They were still being given a stipend, so it wasn't like the two of them were thrown out on the streets. They helped Lydia find a facility for senior citizens who had medical issues."

"Like an assisted living facility," Wilson said. "Thank you," he said to the waiter as he brought back Wilson's credit card and the receipt for him to sign.

"This place encouraged the family to live with the senior and be the main care giver; up to three additional people were allowed to live with the senior. The extras that went along with living there were basically for leisure activities, although they did have a PA and an LPN in residence twenty-four hours a day for emergencies. There were also day aides you could hire per diem to give the family a break; not that Lydia's mother ever allowed anyone else to take care of her."

"I really don't know how Lydia dealt with that," said Wilson as he signed the receipt and put his credit card and the money House had given him away. "She went far beyond what most people would do to take care of their parents."

"Annie was her saving grace," House said as he drank the last of his wine. "She would come a few times a week and visit; keep the mom occupied while Lydia did grocery shopping or got a haircut…whatever. At least she got out and got some fresh air; I swear her mother was actually the inspiration for most of Anne Rice's novels." Wilson looked puzzled.

"How so?" he asked.

"She never wanted to go outside during the day, insisted that the blinds and curtains were drawn at all times and stayed awake most of the night; she had to be a vampire."

"If she was, what does that make Lydia?" House considered it for a moment.

"Hmm…I'm going to have to start calling her Fraulein Elvira." He smiled at the thought Lydia in a sexy vampiress' costume. "Getting back to Lydia's imprisonment; once in a while they would hire an aide and go get dinner or something and deal with Mama's wrath when they came back. Sometimes, they would stay around the facility and use the rec room; it had video games, pinball machines, foosball tables…"

"Do they like to play foosball?" Wilson asked.

"I don't know about that, but I do know they love to play pool. Lydia told me most of the time they went to the rec, that's what they did. She also mentioned they haven't had the chance to play since Annie rejoined the land of the living. So, to further curry favor with our two favorite ladies…."

"We'll take them to play pool," said Wilson finishing House's sentence. He was smiling broadly. "That's a great idea."

"I've been known to have them on a regular basis," House noted. "I thought we'd head over to Joe's Bar and Grill; they not only have pool tables there, but Monday is blues and rock-a-billy night with a live band. I'm sure they'll be playing some kind of good music Annie will approve of."

"I think the girls will love it. Here they come. Let's not tell them where we're taking them; let's surprise them." Wilson sounded like an excited little kid.

"Works for me," House said as he stood up.

"Sorry we took so long, but a woman came into the ladies room with the most adorable baby," Lydia said smiling. "She's four months old and her name is Amanda."

"She was six pounds, three ounces and eighteen inches when she was born," Annie added in.

"Did you also get her APGAR score?" House asked.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's a rating system used to determine the health of a newborn," said Wilson as he laughed. "And from the look on your face, I'd say Amanda got a ten." Annie nodded.

"She was so cute; she was cooing to me."

"Sounds like a pigeon, not a kid," House commented. The rest of the group gave him a look of disapproval. "Why don't we head out?" House said sensing he was out numbered. "There's more of the evening yet to come." The women looked at each other.

"Oh? And what have you fellows cooked up?" Lydia asked looking back and forth between House and Wilson. House reached over, took Lydia's hand and started to lead the group to the restaurant's door.

"Something special for dessert; and just remember: you two are in the hands of a couple of master chefs." Annie gave Wilson a curious look as he took her hand and followed Lydia and House out of the restaurant.

Once outside, House started to search his pockets for the stub to give the valet.

"Hey, Fraulein, did I give you the ticket we need to give to the car jockey?" Lydia gave him a puzzled look.

"No, I don't have it. I saw you put it your pocket." House reached in and finally pulled it out.

"That's funny; I rarely put anything in that pocket since my right hand is usually occupied with other things," he said indicating his cane. Two valets approached the group and took the claim checks so they could retrieve the cars.

"Greg, can I ask you a question?" Annie asked.

"I may not answer it, but sure."

"When did you start calling Lydia 'Fraulein'? I don't remember hearing that after I woke up at Mayfield, so when…?"

"One night when she slept over, I had a nightmare that I was a POW held by the Nazis; she was my guard and I was trying to charm her into letting me go." Lydia rolled her eyes and shook her head. House caught sight of her and fessed up.

"Most couples have these sickeningly cute nicknames for each other like 'Love Dove' or 'Cuddle Bear' or 'Pukie Panda' and I always swore I'd never be dragged into that; just not my style. So one time, she called me 'Hon' and I just came back at her with 'Fraulein' and…"

"The names stuck," Lydia said smiling at House as she reached up and gently stroked his still bruised face. She wasn't about to come out and admit just how much she liked it when he called her that.

"Those bruises still look pretty bad," Annie said quietly. "How long until they start to fade?" Lydia quickly dropped her hand down from House's face; she hadn't thought about the fact that the marks on his face might bring up unpleasant memories.

"In another few days, they'll start to fade; then I'll wind up looking like I have jaundice as the skin yellows."

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little bit; tender to the touch would be a better description." House eyed Annie curiously. "You don't remember anything about your attack?"

"I remember the incident itself and then passing out after they left the second time; the next thing I knew was sitting in Mayfield with Lydia beside me, but that was actually years after the attack. I couldn't answer her no matter how hard I tried. Then you came over and sat down," she said to House. "I heard and could recall every word you two said; all the times you came over, both together and separately." Annie started to laugh. "You either thought that I wasn't going to remember anything or that I was going to be silent forever because you two said some very interesting things about each other," she said as she turned to Wilson and winked.

"Tell us more," Wilson said with a teasing tone in his voice. Both Lydia and House looked more than a little uncomfortable at the mention of their private conversations with Annie back at Mayfield.

"Nah, I think I'll let them tell each other when they have some private time alone later; it would be more fun for them."

"Darn," Wilson said as he snapped his fingers in disappointment.

"If you're looking for inspiration, you seem to have enough standing right next to you," House pointed out. Wilson squeezed Annie's hand.

"Yes, I do," Wilson said looking into her eyes. Annie smiled, gave him a kiss and rested her head against his chest. He placed his arm around her and gently pulled her in tighter for a hug. Wilson couldn't help but smile as he sensed how comfortable Annie was becoming with him. Just then, the valets showed up with the cars. Both House and Wilson handed the men tips and helped the ladies into the car.

"Want me to lead?" House asked Wilson.

"Might as well; you're already in front of me." In a minute, they made their way down the driveway for the restaurant and turned right onto the roadway.

"So, what did you say to Annie about me?" Lydia asked. House raised his eyebrows up and down in a lecherous manner.

"I think Annie's right; we should wait until we have some private time to discuss that." Lydia's eyes were narrowed as she stared at House.

"You couldn't have said anything that bad…could you?"

"I simply said that after we managed to find an unoccupied room you gave a whole new meaning to the words 'rocking chair.' At the time, she couldn't say a word about it and by now, I'm sure she's figured it out." Lydia buried her head in her hands in mock embarrassment.

"She hasn't said anything to me, but I'm sure she was simply shocked." House glanced over at Lydia.

"She probably was thrilled to hear you were actually with someone who gave a damn about you. Oh…yeah…I made that very clear to her, too." Lydia smiled and reached over to rub House's arm.

"And I told her exactly how I felt about you," she said. "Speaking of feelings, James certainly seems to be having a good time." House checked to make sure all was clear, then he put on his indicator and moved into the left lane.

"Honestly? I'm not even going to joke about it: I've never seen Wilson this happy. Well, maybe when Air Supply announced a reunion tour; I think he wet his pants over that, but…." House made the left and checked his mirror to make sure Wilson followed him.

"I thought you said you were going to be serious," admonished Lydia.

"I am." House said earnestly. "Air Supply is second only to ABBA with him. I told him I'm getting him front row tickets to 'Mama Mia' on Broadway for his fiftieth birthday." Lydia looked puzzled.

"Isn't that about four or five years from now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm counting on all the hoopla to die down before then and I won't have to spring for the tickets." Lydia laughed.

"You're back to your usual self." House glanced at her quickly.

"How so?" He moved into the right lane in anticipation of making the turn onto Magnolia Street where Joe's Bar and Grill was located.

"The whole thing with Hunter upset you so much that even on the weekend when everything was over and we all were fixing up the house, you…just weren't yourself." House took a deep breath.

"What you saw was me in pain; not anywhere near the amount I can feel with my leg, but still bad enough. I think the Tylenol with codeine helped that, but I can be very nasty and snarky and a bastard when I'm in pain." As they pulled up to a red light, House turned to look at Lydia. "I'm sorry if I did or said anything that hurt you; it was the pain talking." Lydia brought her hand up to his head and ran it down to the back of House's neck.

"You didn't direct any comments specifically toward me. You were just…cranky. And snarky. And nasty."

"Oh, great," he said turning his attention toward the driver's side window. He looked back as the light changed to green and he made the turn on to Magnolia.

"But, you got to be in a much better mood when you gave me my grandmother's rocker and my piano back." House smiled.

"That's because I get off on making you happy. Which I'm still trying to figure out how I've gone from self-centered son-of-a-bitch to semi-caring boyfriend."

"You're not semi-caring, you're very caring. And maybe you just had to wait fifty plus years to meet the right woman."

"That's fifty plus very little," House said for clarification. Lydia laughed.

"I don't care how many it is; I still love you."

"I love you, too," he said with a smile; he slowed the car down as they approached Joe's. Seeing a spot relatively close to the door and one directly across the street, House pulled into the closer spot. Wilson pulled up next to him and put the window down; House and Lydia both took note of the fact that Wilson's hair looked more than slightly askew.

"If I'm not mistaken, making out while driving is against the law as much as texting is," House said, giving the pair a look. Annie and Wilson looked at each other and smiled.

"We only took advantage of the red lights," Wilson said.

"We only hit one red light," noted Lydia. Annie shrugged.

"You know how efficient I can be," she replied. House shook his head.

"Why don't you grab the spot across the street?" he suggested. Wilson looked to his left.

"Good idea." He pulled away and started the process of making a U-turn and maneuvering the car into the spot. House, meanwhile, turned off his car and exited the vehicle. He opened the back door to retrieve his cane and then made his way onto the curb. Lydia was waiting for him, smiling and looking as beautiful as ever. He wondered for a moment if he really wanted to play pool.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lydia asked as House approached.

"Like what?" House said with grin.

"Like I'm standing here without any clothes on."

"If you were doing that, you wouldn't still be standing there; we'd be in the back seat and you'd be messing up my hair even more than Annie did Wilson's." House looked over at the other side off the street. "He's backing it up now. That means we have a minute." He put his arms around Lydia and gave her a kiss.

"You have such a one-track mind," she said running her hands up and down his back.

"Am I being criticized for wanting to make love to the woman I adore? It's been so long, I'd forgotten what it feels like."

"Oh, I'm not complaining, believe me," said Lydia.

"Good; cause you're stuck with it. That's just me; I take big bites of my food, big gulps of my drinks and need lots of loving to keep me happy," House said in a low sexy voice.

"Whatever it is you two have cooked up, we may not get to stay here very long at the rate things are going." She looked over her shoulder. "Because they are still in the car. Oh…a door is finally opening."

"I'd have to guess Annie's enjoying herself?" Lydia closed her eyes.

"This…is the Annie I've always known. This is the Annie who has been my best friend for years: Happy, fun-loving, affectionate. That's the Annie I've always loved. She's been doing well, but tonight, she just seems to have blossomed. This is the Annie who's been my best friend all these years. She back." Lydia leaned forward and snuggled into House; he held her tightly and repeatedly kissed the top and side of her head as he smiled. House knew he had played a small part in helping to bring Annie out of the mental cage she had locked herself in; to Lydia it meant everything. He looked up and saw that Wilson and Annie had crossed over to their side of the street.

"We have company," House whispered. Lydia pushed back from him and quickly wiped her face with her hand.

"Ready?" Wilson asked. He started to move his arms and legs around in a manner that suggested dancing, but only by a stretch of the imagination. Annie and Lydia started to giggle as Wilson moved about; House could only stare in disbelief.

"Your assignment, Miss Harris, should you choose to accept it, is to teach this spaz how to dance," he said, shaking his head at Wilson's writhing form. Wilson stopped moving and looked at House.

"And you can do better?" he asked. House held up his cane.

"Even with this…yeah." He began making his way down the block to the rhythm of a hip-hop song blasting from a passing car. Everyone, with the exception of House was laughing; he was too busy getting his groove on.

"We'd better get inside before they send the nice men in the white coats for us," Lydia said. The two couples started to make their way to the entrance of the building.

"I've already had that happen to me; it's no big deal," Annie said.

"That's because you can't remember what happened; try needing four guys to carry you in while you're trying to escape," House said.

"I thought you said your time at Mayfield was voluntary," commented Lydia.

"It was," Wilson noted. "You walked in the front door carrying your suitcase; _you_ didn't need to be carried in."

"Not when I first got there; after dealing with Nolan for a while, I was ready to chip away at the bare walls with my fingernails if I had to."

"Nolan was such an idiot," Annie said disgustedly. "If he had just listened to Steve, I could have been awake and functioning a lot sooner. And then when you came to Mayfield, and confirmed what Steve was saying, that I wanted the music box, I just wanted my 'voice' back, he still didn't listen…and you're a doctor!" She shook her head and stopped walking. "Greg, I have to apologize for not saying goodbye when I left Mayfield; it was Nolan's fault. He stopped both Lydia and me from seeing you. He said it would be better for you if we just cut the ties rather than drawing things out. I thought he was the professional, he must know you and your case, but…it didn't feel right and we should have insisted. I'm sorry." House looked away from her for a moment before speaking.

"It's OK; Lydia told me what happened. I was at the window when you two walked out of Mayfield; I saw you both turn and look up at me, but I was an ass and walked away without acknowledging you." He let out a sigh. "I guess I'm the one who should be sorry."

"You came to the house to see me at least," Lydia said. She took a few steps forward and rested her head against House. "God, how I wanted to leave with you right then and there." House put his arm around her.

"I don't think things would have worked out as well as they have if you did leave your husband back then. There were some things we each had to take care of and deal with before 'us' happened." House glanced at Annie. "I didn't know we had a third member of the 'I hate Nolan' fan club."

"You have a fourth member, too." They turned and looked at Wilson who had been standing there silently, taking in the conversation. "I tried to come and see you a number of times, both before and after that one phone call you made to me. Nolan had even warned me you were going to call; it almost felt like a set up…like if I was cold to you and hung up on you, it would put a wedge between us and that's exactly what he wanted. I didn't sleep all that night and the next day I drove out there and demanded to see you, but Nolan came down to the lobby and gave me some psychobabble talk and convinced me to leave. He wouldn't even let me up to his office; he probably was afraid I might see you."

"Nolan could give me a master class in manipulation. It prolonged Hell for a bit, but it all worked out in the end and I think we're all pretty satisfied with the outcome." House looked down at Lydia. "What'd you think, Fraulein?" Lydia picked her head up and smiled.

"I think I'm happier that I have ever been in my life."

"Me, too," Annie added in. Wilson smiled and gave Annie a kiss.

"House, if anyone had ever told you that the two of us would be standing here with two beautiful women in our lives at the same time, what would you've said?" Wilson asked.

"I would have offered them my bed at Mayfield." He started to take a few steps. "No, wait; that would mean they'd have Alvie for a roommate, which could be considered cruel and unusual punishment."

"Leave Alvie alone; he was funny," Lydia said.

"If you didn't have to listen to him make up all those raps almost twenty-four hours a day," House noted. They had begun to walk again and arrived at the door to Joe's; the music being played was heard outside.

"Now as you can hear, there is live music being performed by…" House looked up at the sign that hung to the right of the door. "'Papa Gene's Blues', a kick-ass blues and rock-a-billy group. I'm sure they will play something that will suit a person with eclectic tastes; just don't count on hearing the word 'Buttercup' tonight." Annie smiled at House's reference to hers and Wilson's song choice from the night before.

"But the music isn't the best thing about this place," Wilson said with smile; he placed his hand on the left side door, House placed his hand on the right. Wilson silently mouthed the words "one, two, three" and the two men pushed the doors open. The two couples took a few steps inside before the women saw their big surprise.

"Pool tables!" Annie exclaimed. Lydia turned to House.

"Semi-caring boyfriend, mein arsch," Lydia said smiling at the fact that House remembered what she had said about the game.

"Lydia, we haven't played since….your mom was alive. This is so…OMG! Superman pinball!" House, Wilson and Lydia all followed Annie's gaze; sure enough, there was an old-fashioned machine with the man of steel emblazoned on the front. House and Wilson looked at each other and shrugged.

"Annie…Ms. Pac-Man!" Lydia pointed out.

"And Asteroid!" squealed Annie. She looked at Wilson. "These are all the games that were in the rec room at the facility where Lydia and her mom were living; how did you know?" Wilson quickly tried to figure out what mixture of truth and white lies he should tell to impress Annie; he came to the conclusion the truth would be the best.

"I didn't; actually I don't know if House even knew they were here. He's the one who scoped out the place."

"Wilson, when did you ever know me not to notice a video game?" Wilson nodded in agreement. "I just didn't know that these particular ones were in your game room of old."

"The only things missing are Tron and that auto race game that I used to crash all the time," noted Lydia.

"What did you think was going to happen? You drove it like you were on the Autobahn," Annie admonished. "And you played with Superman so aggressively that you made him tilt all the time." House turned to Lydia with a smile.

"Some things don't change," he said quietly. Lydia gave him a look.

"We'll talk about that later. Oh, no!" she said.

"What's the matter?" House asked.

"There are only four tables in the place; three are occupied and the fourth one has a reserved sign on it." House and Wilson looked at each other and smiled.

"Read the sign," Wilson said. The women walked over and Lydia picked up the piece of cardboard which had been place on the green felt.

"Reserved for two sexy doctors and their hot, smoking babes," she read out loud. The two women exchanged looks.

"So…where are we going to play?" they asked in unison. Whether it was what they said or the fact that they said it together, Wilson and House stood there speechless.

"Are they insulting us or themselves?" Wilson asked as the women laughed.

"I'm not sure, but anything we give should be done with caution," observed House under his breath. He walked over to Lydia with his hand extended.

"Very funny you two. Give me that so I can have the bar keep throw it away; I'll get the rack of balls."

"No! I want to keep it," said Annie, taking it from Lydia. House looked puzzled.

"Why?"

"I want it as a memento for tonight," she said. I'm hoping Wilson will give you something a lot more memorable than that, House thought to himself; but I guess it never hurts to cover all the bases, so to speak. House shrugged and walked over to the bar. The place was actually a lot nicer that the average bar and grill. The room the doors opened into had the four pool tables, the video games along the right wall and half the bar with stools lined up; the bar curved around in an oval shape to the other room where the band was playing. There were booths along the walls and tables to the back of the room; the small bandstand and a rectangular dance floor were toward the front.

"Hey, House." House looked up at Sean, the manager of the bar; he was the one House had asked to put the sign on the table. The two were acquainted from House's prior trips to the place.

"Was the sign OK?"

"Great; Wilson's date wants to keep the thing." Sean looked over at the table where Wilson, Lydia and Annie were standing.

"Is the red-haired beauty your lady and the dark-haired one his?" House nodded. "You both have good taste," he said as he reached under the counter to bring out the rack of balls. Like Mike from Otto's, Sean was an older gentleman, used to being able to be free in his comments to compliment pretty women. He meant no disrespect or harm; he just came from a less PC generation. "Here you go," Sean said laying the rack on the countertop. He looked it over for a second and then muttered, "Damn!"

"Scotty!" A young man standing a few feet away near the curve of the bar looked over at them. "There's no chalk on this rack." Sean looked under the counter. "Or on any of the extras. Is there chalk at your table?" he asked House.

"Lydia; is there any chalk over there?" House called out. She looked around the table.

"No, none," she called back. Sean gave Scotty a look.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I'll go get some." House judged Scotty to be about twenty; he got the feeling that the kid played the part of whipping boy around the place, whether because of his youth or inexperience, House wasn't sure.

"Sean, could you go get the chalk? I need to talk to Scotty for moment." House recognized the person who spoke as Joe, the owner of the establishment.

"Uncle Joe, I did all the other tables right; polished the wood, vacuumed the tops, wiped down all the cues…I did everything you said," Scotty pointed out. "Don't be mad over something like this."

"It's not just this," Joe said. "It everything put together. Yesterday you dropped that bin of dishes you bused…"

"And I paid you back for all of them," Scotty interjected. Joe rolled his head.

"That's not the point; I can overlook and forgive these things because you're my nephew. But you can't work for me forever."

"I won't; when you're ready to retire, I'll take over for you, run the place." Joe gave Scotty a skeptical look. "You don't have any kids and I'm your only nephew; what else are you going to do?"

"I can always sell the place," Joe said sadly. Scotty started to open his mouth to speak, but he was cut off. "You can't think of anything like that until you get this spasm thing under control. Let's face it: the drugs ruined some part of your mind. You can't get that back."

"Geez, why won't anyone listen to me? Why won't anyone believe me? I didn't do drugs like I was an addict or something. I tried pot a few times; that's it. Yeah, I have something to drink with my friends on the weekends, but I'm not an alcoholic. I've had problems with the spasms and the other stuff since I was kid. This isn't anything new."

"You never said anything to us when you were a kid and now all of a sudden, when you've been caught with this crap, you want everyone to believe that there's been something wrong with you for years? Look, Scotty; if your parents even knew I was letting you do this, they'd kill me. Just keep a low profile and see how things go, OK?" Scotty nodded and walked past House to the back of the room.

House had initially been paying a bare minimum of attention to the conversation between the young man and his uncle. But after a few minutes, he had focused in on what was being said and it piqued his curiosity. He made a mental note to try to talk to the kid later.

"Here you go. Sorry it took so long," Sean said as he returned with the chalk. "The inventory room was a bit of a mess." He made a face and shook his head. "Can I send a waitress over for you?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," House said grabbing the rack. He brought it over to the table and placed it down.

"What were they doing, freshly painting the balls by hand?" Wilson asked. "House, what's the matter?"

"Nothing. I may need to talk to someone later," he said as he watched Scotty bring a case of Bud up from the basement and fill in the ice chest behind the bar. "Where did the ladies go?"

"Over there, by Ms. Pac-Man. They are having a blast." House looked over to the video game and laughed as he listened to the two women.

"Left, left…go up…no down," coached Annie as Lydia maneuvered this way and that. Finally, after a minute, the familiar sound of the munching maniac being caught reverberated from the machine.

"Damn!" Lydia exclaimed, banging her fist on the machine.

"Hey, it's not bad considering you haven't played in how long?" Annie asked.

"I don't even want to think about how long it's been," said Lydia as they made their way back to the table.

"Are you two teen-agers finished?" House inquired. "Cause we're ready to play the big boys' game of pool."

"Big boys and girls," Annie corrected.

"We'll see how well you two do against the all-powerful team of Hilson," Wilson said using the pool cue like a barbell.

"What did you just call us?" House asked.

"Hilson. If there can be Brangelina, why can't there be Hilson?"

"Because that would mean one of the two of us is cut the wrong way and it sure as hell isn't me."

"But…" House held his hand up. He very pointedly said,

"No." Wilson looked dejected as he made his way over to Annie.

"I thought it was cute," she said.

"Don't; please don't encourage him," House begged.

"I liked it, too," Lydia said quietly as she made her way over to House who glared at her when she arrived next to where he stood. She stuck her tongue out at him, which made him laugh just like she knew it would. House moved over to the table and mixed the balls around in the rack and removed it.

"I call break," Annie said quickly. House looked at her questioningly.

"Fine; what game are we playing?"

"How about eight-ball?" suggested Lydia. "That an easy way to start."

"Want to do couples teams?" Wilson asked. Everyone nodded their consent and Annie placed the cue ball ready to break. House continued to look on with some hesitation; it wasn't that he really doubted her ability. It was just that she was the shortest and smallest of anyone in the group; House figured her to be five foot four or five. Lydia was closest in height to her and she was five foot eight. Oh well, we'll just be nice to…

CRACK! The sound of balls flying across the table and into pockets startled House.

"Let's see you got two stripes and one solid in, but I didn't see which went in first. I guess it's your call," Lydia said.

"Stripes it is," said Annie. "Your turn, James." Wilson was still in shock from watching Annie so powerfully handle the break, but he pulled himself together to make the next shot. Annie missed on her turn and as Lydia approached the table, their waitress came over.

"Hi, my name is Misty and I'll be your waitress for this evening," said the young woman with cascading, overly bleached blond hair. "What can I get for everyone this evening?" House and Wilson both gestured that Lydia and Annie should go first.

"I'll have a Bud," Lydia said to start.

"The same," Annie said.

"Make it three," Wilson chimed in.

"Four," added House.

"Wow, you guys are making it easy. Will that be tap or bottle?"

"Bottle's fine on all of them," House said. "And two baskets of those homemade potato chips."

"OK, got it," Misty said as she finished writing the order up. "I'll be right back out." She headed for the bar, but stopped to talk to Scotty. He had been in the other room busing the tables and House hadn't seen him in a bit. From the way the two interacted, standing so close and Misty touching Scotty's arm, House took it that the two were dating. His attention was drawn back to the table as Annie sunk the eight ball to win the first match.

"Best two out of three," he called out. That was good with everyone, so the next match began.

"Here you go, four bottles of Bud; your chips will be out in a few minutes," Misty said as she sat the beers on the ledge that surrounded the circular column near the table.

"Thanks," Wilson said as Annie prepared to break again. Just then, Scotty passed by muttering to himself; Misty looked after him with a worried expression. Wilson walked over to House.

"What's the deal with the kid?" he asked.

"Not sure," House said watching him as he leaned his elbows on the bar and massaged his temples. "Joe, the owner is his uncle; they were talking before about the kid abusing drugs. He claims he dabbled just in pot and drinks with his friends, but not to excess. Uncle talked about the kid having spasms; he also said something about the kid being forgetful and dropping stuff."

"Well, there's your answer, then; the kid probably did a lot more than he's admitting to and fried a few brain cells along the way."

"Probably," House said as he watched him walk in their direction.

"Red, one… help…blue two…need….red, purple, purple, blue…." Wilson looked at House.

"Did that make any sense to you?" House watched Scotty go get a dish bin and head back into the other room to clean off tables.

"Not one bit," he confessed.

"Hey, you two ready?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, come on ringer, break 'em," House said as he went to the column next to Lydia and picked up his beer. He took a long drink as Annie once again broke the rack wide open. This time she sunk one each of stripes and solids.

"What do you want, James; stripes or solids?"

"You're the one making the shots for us; I'll let you choose.

"Hmmm," she said as she thought and twirled the cue stick between her fingers the same House twirled his cane. "Let's go with solids this time," she said gesturing at the table for Wilson to take his turn.

"Here are your chips," Misty said with a false cheerfulness; House could see she was trying to look onto the other room to check on Scotty.

"Greg?" House looked over to see Lydia standing by the table trying to figure out a shot. Wilson had failed to sink any balls and now Lydia was trying to get them on the board.

"What's the matter? That bastard leave you with nothing?" House perused the table and saw that what was available to them was less than nothing. "Damn!"

"That's why I called you over. I could use the bridge and try it this way," Lydia said setting up one shot. "Or I can do it this way," she said putting away the bridge and leaning far over the table.

"I like that approach to things," House said moving to stand directly behind her. She straightened up and House had her firmly by the waist as he started kissing her neck.

"Greg! That isn't going to win us any pool games," admonished Lydia.

"That's not what I'm trying to win," House said as he made his way across the back of her neck and to the other side.

"Hey, you," called out Annie. "None of that in public with my best friend." House looked over and saw that Wilson had his arms around Annie the same way he had his arms around Lydia.

"Why can't I? You can do whatever you want with my best friend."

"Really?" Annie asked. With that, she turned to face Wilson and began kissing him on his neck. He was about to protest, but then thought better of it and closed his eyes to enjoy the moment.

"Look what you've started," Lydia said as she squirmed around in House's arms so she could face him the way Wilson and Annie were positioned.

"Are you kidding? They'll thank me in the morning; I know you…"

"Red, purple, purple, blue….red, purple, purple, blue…" House pulled Lydia from the path of the out of control form of Scotty. Without Lydia to break his fall, he fell against the ledge going around the column, sending bottles of beer and the basket of chips flying in different directions. Scotty hit the floor with a sickening thud, his body awash in spasms.

"Call nine-one-one," House said loudly trying to be heard above the band.

"Oh my God, what's wrong?" Annie asked.

"Stay here," Wilson said, moving up next to House who was kneeling beside the prone form on the floor. "Are you alright?" he asked Lydia as he passed by her. She nodded in the affirmative and went to stand near Annie. Scotty continued to convulse on the floor.

"Give me something he can bite on," House barked at the crowd of onlookers who had started to gather. No one moved for a moment, then Annie came forward and handed House the thin leather belt from her dress. He placed it is Scotty's mouth so he wouldn't bite his tongue as the spasm continued.

"Oh, damn! Geez folks, I am so sorry," Joe said as he looked down on the scene. "I've tried to help him, but it does no good. He just keeps screwing up and screwing up."

"Not again," said another voice that House recognized as Sean's; he was too busy trying to keep an eye on Scotty's writhing form to look up.

"Did someone call nine-one-one?" Lydia asked.

"There's no need for that, Miss. Just give it a few minutes and he'll be fine," Sean said.

"Are you crazy?" Wilson asked. "He's having a seizure; we've got to get him to a hospital."

"And considering we're both doctors, it might be a good idea for business if you listen to us; chalk outlines of dead bodies isn't a great decorating theme." As House spoke, Scotty gave two huge spasms and then completely relaxed.

"See, I told you; give it a minute and he'll stop," Sean pointed out. House placed his hand on Scotty's neck and then bent his head down near Scotty's.

"That's because he's stopped breathing and he has no pulse; CALL NINE-ONE-ONE!"


	3. Chapter 3

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Three – "Cobblestone Road"

By: Purpleu

Wilson walked over to the bar stools where Lydia and Annie were sitting; Lydia held a wad of gauze just above her left ankle as Annie looked on with concern. All hell broke loose when Scotty collapsed and sent everything flying: Lydia wound up being the one to call for an ambulance, House and Wilson were performing CPR and Annie found both a first-aid kit behind the counter as well as an Automatic Electronic Defibrillator mounted on the wall. She had remembered seeing one in her bank and having a conversation about it when she went there on Friday. The teller told her that many businesses were starting to have them, especially food establishments and that by law, they could be found near the instruction card for the Heimlich maneuver. Annie kept her wits about her enough to seek the device out; it enabled House and Wilson to establish a sinus rhythm in Scotty and stabilize him somewhat.

"Are you OK?" Wilson asked, putting his arm around Annie.

"Yeah. I…I'm fine," she said looking at Lydia.

"Has that stopped bleeding yet?" he asked. Wilson saw that the blood had soaked through the gauze and needed to be changed out.

"I don't think so; I haven't pressed as hard as I should because it hurts so much when I do," Lydia said. Wilson reached into the first aid kit, which was sitting on the bar, and opened some more gauze.

"Let's switch that for something clean," he said pointing to the wad of material. Lydia nodded, then winced as Wilson pulled the bloodied gauze away; the blood began to flow again, rapidly.

"What the hell happened to you?" House had come up behind Wilson and saw the blood coming from Lydia's leg.

"When the beer bottles shattered, the pieces of glass went flying and I guess one got me."

"Let me see it," he took the gauze that Wilson was holding and gently wiped the blood; he examined the wound as best he could in the dim light of the bar. "Are there tweezers in there?" he asked Wilson, indicating the first aid kit.

"No. Why do you want them?"

"I think I saw some glass fragments in there…I can't get the blood flow to ease off enough so I can get a better look."

"AH…OW!" yelled Lydia as House poked around in the wound. House grimaced.

"You've got some glass in there, for sure," House said. He thought for a moment as he changed out the gauze on Lydia's wound. "I was going to ride in the ambulance over to the hospital; mainly to make sure the morons actually take him to PPTH."

"Why wouldn't they?" Wilson asked.

"Seems this bunch are fans of the rule book which says they have to take the patient the nearest hospital; Princeton General is closer by a quarter of a mile. I told them the kid's my patient and my hospital is PPTH; of course they decided to ask Uncle Joey Numbskull and he says the kid doesn't have a doctor."

"Oh, great," Wilson said. "What are we going to do?"

"I took care of it. I pulled the crew leader aside and told him that when it came to Uncle Joe, the uncle part was really in quotation marks and that he liked everyone to call him 'Uncle.' Fortunately, he bought into it."

"What are they waiting for? Why aren't they moving out?" Wilson asked.

"Well, since we were paddling him just as they arrived, they want to make sure he's good before they transport. He's not considered critical since his heart rate is stable now and he's breathing on his own; I had them put him on oxygen as a preventative measure."

"Is he awake yet?" asked Annie. House found it both ironic and amusing that Annie was the one to ask about the patient's state of consciousness.

"No, he's not responsive yet." House looked at Lydia. "I was going to have you drive my car over to the hospital so I could take the ride with the kid, but I don't want you doing it with your leg." Lydia gave him a look.

"Don't be ridiculous; I can do it. If it makes you feel any better, Annie will ride with me."

"It would make me feel better if you let Annie drive. Here, get that elevated; you can be her backrest for now," House said to Annie. He moved a nearby stool next to Lydia; he carefully took a hold of her leg and swung it up onto the seat. Annie moved in closer and let Lydia lean back against her. "I'll tell you one thing that bothers me and makes me feel better at the same time." He held up his hands which had smears of blood on them. "I wasn't sure where this came from." House looked at Lydia. "Now that I know, I'm not happy, but at least I know where it and other bodily fluids connected with it have been."

"I'm so glad I can be reassuring," she said a bit sarcastically. House kissed her on the top of her head.

"Let me clean up; Wilson and I will help you get out to the car. Then I'll get these yahoos moving." As House took his cane and started to walk in the direction of the men's room, a commotion started by the door.

"Doc! He's seizing again!" One of the paramedics had burst through the door, looking panicked.

"Damn!" House turned and started to walk quickly to the door.

"House! Keys!" Wilson shouted. House fished the keys out of his pocket and lobbed them in Wilson's direction.

"Tape that gauze down and get her straight into the ER," House said over his shoulder. He rushed out of the building and found the ambulance double parked at the curb, its back doors wide open. He saw the driver standing by the rear as the two paramedics worked on containing Scotty's convulsing body.

"Get this thing moving," House ordered as he climbed into the vehicle. The driver closed the doors behind him and rushed to get behind the steering wheel. House looked out the rear window of the ambulance as it pulled away from Joe's: he saw Wilson carrying Lydia down the sidewalk to his car. House pounded his fist on the seat beside him.

"Mother…."

"What's the matter, doc?" asked the paramedic seated next to House; he was inserting a roll of gauze into Scotty's mouth so he wouldn't bite his tongue. The other EMT was trying to replace the oxygen mask, but it was useless.

"My girlfriend got her leg cut open when some beer bottles broke; Spaz boy here sent a bunch of stuff flying when he had his first seizure." House glanced out the rear window. "I just saw her being carried to my car."

"Someone going to take her to get stitched up?" asked the second EMT.

"My best friend." House looked out the window again and realized something was wrong. "Hey, hey you're going the wrong way," House said.

"Sorry, Doc; but once he seized again, he became a level one trauma case. The nearest level one center is Princeton General, so that's where we're going," the driver said.

"And I won't be able to treat him there," House insisted as he tried to keep Scotty's legs from kicking his.

"There are plenty of other doctors who will be able to help him; don't worry," the first paramedic said, sensing House's growing impatience. He attempted to put a blood pressure cuff on Scotty, but to no use.

"Look, I hate to pull rank, but right now, I don't give a crap; I'm Dr. Gregory House and I'm the director of the Department of Diagnostic medicine at PPTH. And unless my team and I are the ones who get to diagnose him, this kid may die. Now let's take a vote: who feels like having that on their conscience the rest of their lives? C'mon, show of hands." Scotty suddenly gave a shudder that lifted him several inches off the gurney.

"You're Dr. House? The one who had the fight with Malcolm Hunter in the lobby of the hospital last week?" asked the second EMT. House eyed him suspiciously.

"Yeah; how do you know about that?"

"A news story online; union website, actually. You've got a bunch of guys who want to shake your hand." House looked up toward the driver.

"I'll take a re-directed ambulance instead." The EMT nodded.

"Jonesy, take it to PPTH."

"But…"

"I'm the crew chief, I'll take the responsibility."

"OK," the driver said ruefully. He checked to see if it was clear, then pulled all the way over to the right lane and made a turn at the next cross street. As the turn was made, Scotty convulsed again; he then stopped moving. House grabbed the stethoscope from around the neck of the paramedic sitting next to him; he set the earpieces in and listened to Scotty's heart and lungs.

"No pulse or respiration," House called out. The second EMT bent over and began CPR; the first one reached behind House and pulled a box off the shelf.

"Got the AED, Slick," he said. Opening the kit, he began the process of charging the unit; House took the paddles from him and readied their position.

"Charged!"

"Clear!" House applied the paddles and watched as Scotty's body jumped. He quickly listened with the stethoscope; nothing.

"Again!" House tossed aside the stethoscope.

"Charged!"

"Clear!" Another jolt from the paddles, another hope that this time it worked. To House's relief, he heard a regular heartbeat and could hear the lungs filing with air; he nodded to the two paramedics who both let out a deep breath.

"Slick?" questioned the driver.

"Keep it going to PPTH." Slick said. He looked over at his partner, then House and leaned back. "Those bruises from your run-in with Hunter?" he asked House.

"Yeah, that and a few more I don't know you well enough to reveal." Slick laughed.

"I hope you returned the favor." House shook his head.

"I hit where it hurt the most: his ego and his wallet."

"If it hurt, it's good." Slick extended his hand. "John McNamee, also known as Slick." House was not one to shake hands, but he appreciated the guy's intelligence and consideration shown in the situation; that and his dislike for Hunter.

"Billy Shea," said the paramedic next to House; he also offered his hand, which House reluctantly grasped.

"Charlie Jones," said the driver, "also known as Jonesy." House returned the wave he offered. Looking back at Slick, he tried to figure what kind of history he had with Hunter; he was older than the other two EMT's. House took it that he may have had a different career that got sidetracked by his dealings with Slimeball.

"So, what crap did the spawn of the devil pull with you?" he asked. Slick made a face.

"Not allowed to say much of anything," Slick said grimly, "But let me put it this way: I once walked in your shoes." House nodded a sad assent. He looked up and realized that they were getting near PPTH. He listened once again to Scotty's chest and found all to be normal. He stared down at the young man and wondered what the hell was going on inside his body. Kid, I hope I'm right about you, he thought; I hope you're telling the truth.

As the ambulance backed into the bay by the ER doors, it made the familiar beeping sound associated with a vehicle getting ready to deliver yet another patient. The sound had always made House's pulse race a little faster; after imagining the ambulance delivering Hannah from the crane crash site, he found the sound now made his stomach sick. He shook off the feeling while Jonesy jumped out and opened the doors. Slick exited first, followed by Billy, and then House; Slick looked over to the left front of the ambulance and narrowed his eyes.

"Be right back; you two help Dr. House get the kid inside," he said as he walked forward.

"Where the hell are you going?" Billy asked, but he got no response. "He plays by his own rules," he commented. House liked the guy even more.

"House!" House turned to see Chase approaching him; he was on call that night and House had texted him from the bar. "What's happening with the patient?"

"He seized again on the way here and just like the first time, he needed to be paddled twice to get the old ticker going again; only it's a young ticker and shouldn't decide to go out on strike. Don't know much about his medical history other than he says he tried a few drugs when he was younger, but doesn't do them now; his family seems convinced that either he's still using them or he damaged himself from his earlier follies."

"You seem to have a different opinion on the subject," noted Chase. "Epilepsy?" House frowned.

"Too obvious. Plus he said he's had this problem since he was a kid; the parents either didn't believe him or chose to ignore it." Chase shrugged.

"There are a lot of things that could cause seizures; want to start with the usual tests?" They watched as the EMT's removed the gurney from the ambulance; Scotty looked sweaty and pale.

"Yeah, metabolic panel, CBC with differential, tox screening; when you cath him to do a urinalysis, check for foaming and if he's playing Mr. Bubbles, do an ultrasound of his kidneys, his left in particular. Either his girlfriend's into animalistic sex or he's been scratching himself to pieces. He also was favoring his left side and holding it here," House said as he reached behind Chase's back and indicated the kidney region. "Combine that with foamy or bubbly urine and we have possible renal failure."

"Why are we going that route? Even if he has a renal problem, it would be highly unusual for it to lead to seizures." House stepped back so Scotty could be wheeled into the building.

"Highly unusual cases are what I get off on," House said looking down at the gurney as it was pushed by.

"Dr. House!" House turned and was surprise at the sight that met his eyes. Wilson and Annie were walking toward him; he didn't see Lydia at first, but then caught sight of her in a wheelchair, her left leg raised up. The wheelchair was being pushed by Slick.

"I believe this lovely lady belongs to you," he said with a smile. House was reluctant to show emotion in front of a stranger, but in this instance, he couldn't help himself.

"Yeah, she's mine," House acknowledged with a smile.

"We were just getting Lydia out of the car, when this gentleman came to us with the wheelchair," Annie said.

"Well, I recognized you all from Joe's; you," Slick said nodding at Wilson, "were working on the kid with Dr. House when we got there." He looked at Annie and Lydia. "It was a little hard not to notice you ladies standing nearby." House and Wilson exchanged rather pleased looks.

"Dr. House! He's seizing again!" Jonsey had come running out of the ER doors. Chase took off on the run.

"Damn, this déjà vu is getting boring," House said as he turned to go inside. "He's going to have to be paddled twice before he'll respond," he called to Chase. He looked back at Wilson. "See if one of the OB/GYN rooms are free; at least she'll have four walls and a door. I'll send Chase over as soon as soon as we convince the kid he's not a Mexican jumping bean; I'll be right behind him." He looked at Lydia's leg; the gauze had soaked through already.

"We kept it elevated," Annie said. House nodded.

"You probably need a few internal stitches besides anything else," House said to Lydia.

"I kind of figured that out," she said.

"Dr. House! Dr. Chase needs you!" one of the orderlies called.

"I've got her, you two go," Slick said to House and Wilson. The two took off for the ER, with Wilson arriving a few seconds ahead of House.

"Clear!" Chase applied the paddles as House and Wilson watched Scotty's body jump. "It seems he doesn't wasn't to answer to a third or fourth call this time," Chase said as he listened to his chest.

"Hit him again." House said. Chase looked at House.

"It'll be the fifth time."

"Epinephrine into the cardiac muscle," ordered House.

"Dr. House, I don't think…" One of the Physician's Assistants started to comment.

"Obviously not," House said as he pushed the PA aside and reached for the crash cart Wilson had pulled over; Chase had begun CPR. House drew the medicine, handed the syringe to Chase, ripped Scotty's shirt open and without even bothering to wipe the area with an alcohol swab, grabbed the needle back and stabbed it into the chest of the lifeless young man and pushed the plunger. After delivering the medicine, House withdrew the needle. He looked up at the vitals monitor; in a few seconds, the body jumped and a normal sinus rhythm appeared on the screen.

"The things you have to do to convince some people to live," House said. "He should stick around long enough for you do the tests that will tell us how to keep him permanently among the living," he said to Chase. "When you get the blood and urine sent to the lab, come over and take care of Lydia's leg; by the time you stitch her up, we should have some results and we'll know for sure if the ultrasound needs to be done." House started to walk away from the stretcher.

"Why do you want me to take care of Lydia's leg wound? You're more than capable to dong it." House looked at Wilson who seemed puzzled, then turned to Chase.

"That would be like me operating on my own leg; as prior coma-induced delusions have proven, that's a really bad idea." Chase still seemed confused for a moment, then caught on to what House was referring to.

"I'll be over in a little bit." House nodded and headed toward the room where Lydia had been placed, with Wilson walking right behind him. Wilson noticed Slick standing at the end of the counter, writing on a clipboard; he was talking to one of the nurses and smiling.

"He seems like a nice guy," Wilson commented to House. "He helped me get Lydia out of the car and into the wheelchair without her putting any pressure on the leg. It let me try to keep Annie calm."

"I guess she would be freaked out. Probably the last time she saw that much blood, it was her own being splattered around," House noted. Wilson let out a big sigh.

"House, I don't think I can do this; I can't handle this relationship." House stopped walking and looked at Wilson incredulously.

"What's the matter, found out she cheats at pool? That her idea of oldies music is really Guns N' Roses?"

"I'm being serious," Wilson said almost desperately. "I feel…like…I don't deserve someone like her; that I've already screwed up three marriages, and I don't want to hurt someone as….incredible…as Annie. Do you know what kind of person it takes to survive what she's been through? And come out this normal? To have the…the generosity in spirit to say if they were still alive, that she'd forgive her attackers? I'd kill them with my bare hands if they were here right now."

"I'd help you," House said. "Don't forget if the attack never happened, Lydia would never have married that abusive bastard; she could have been happy and in love with someone who treated her decently." Wilson looked down at floor and smiled.

"She's got all that now. I guess…I guess I shouldn't try to fight fate, just go with it and enjoy it. Face it, if Annie had never been attacked, she wouldn't have been at Mayfield, you and Lydia wouldn't have met and then Annie and I wouldn't have met. I guess things do happen for a reason, but…" House looked over at the room where Lydia and Annie were waiting.

"Look, I don't think this is very comforting coming from me, but you deserve Annie as much as I deserve Lydia; you've brought Annie a long way in the week you've known her. There must be 'something' there as the saying goes." Wilson shrugged.

"I'd like to think so; but I have a feeling the reason Annie does so well after all that's happened to her, is she has Lydia for a best friend." House looked upward in a contemplative manner.

"In the last six or seven weeks, I've had a building fall on me and had the crap beaten out of me by a lunatic in a maniacal rage. Now, while I don't have the generosity of spirit to say I forgive Hunter, since I actually want to ram a steel I-Beam into his scrotum, I have made it through all this with my version of normal intact, thanks in part to my best friend."

"Only in part?" Wilson asked, smiling.

"Well, you know, there are some things that Lydia does for me that you can't," House said as he turned away. He quickly turned back. "Nor would I ever want you to even try."

"Believe me, the thought never crossed my mind," Wilson said as he followed House toward the ladies.

"That's not what I heard; I heard that's why you always walk ten paces behind me."

"That's not true," Wilson said as he subconsciously quickened his pace. House chuckled to himself as Wilson reached the door of the room and was met by Annie.

"She's feeling dizzy." Annie looked nervous as she stepped aside to let House and Wilson enter the room. Lydia was lying down, her head only slightly elevated; several blankets had been rolled up creating a large cushion on which Lydia's leg rested. She was positioned correctly, at least. House moved over to her; Lydia's eyes were closed and she didn't respond right away to his touch on her hand.

"Lydia?" She let out a small sound, but didn't open her eyes. "Hey, earth to Fraulein." That did the trick; hearing the combo of House's voice and his nickname for her clicked with Lydia. She opened her eyes and turned to look for him.

"Hi," she said softly; she reached for House's hand.

"How do you feel?" he asked as he looked around the room, taking stock of what was in there.

"I feel weak and dizzy which I know is silly; I haven't lost that much blood. It's not a big cut."

"It's bigger and deeper than you think," House said. "Between all the bottles and the glasses and dishes that the kid was carrying, there were some pretty good sized shards of sharp objects being thrown around. I even got two small cuts on my lower leg; the thing is, I had pants on, your leg was bare."

"You got cut? Are you OK?" Lydia started to rise from the exam table when House stopped her with two firm hands on her shoulders.

"Lay down, I'm fine. I don't even need Band-Aids on them. You however are a different story; I think an artery may have gotten nicked. That would account for all the blood."

"Posterior tibial artery?" Lydia asked. Wilson let out a little laugh.

"I forget how much medical knowledge she has," he said looking at Annie and then House and Lydia.

"Lydia would have made an incredible doctor," Annie said. "I think you two would have made a great a team."

"We still are a great team," House said. He reached for Lydia's wrist and looked at his watch; moving to the wall, he grabbed the blood pressure cuff and picked up her arm.

"OK, time to see if you're still alive," House said.

"Oh, don't even joke…." Annie said. House made a face that cracked Annie up and she stopped speaking.

"Quiet ze doctor es at work," House said imitating a German accent as he spoke; while Wilson and Annie laughed, Lydia only managed a smile. He took the reading; while he didn't appear outwardly concerned, Wilson knew House well enough.

"What did she read?"

"Fifty-eight pulse, BP ninety eight over sixty. Do you feel cold?" House asked Lydia.

"A little," she answered weakly.

"I'll get a blanket," Wilson said as he quickly left the room.

"What's going on?" Annie asked, concern creeping into her voice.

"She's OK right now; I don't want her going into shock." Wilson came back and spread the blanket he was holding over Lydia; it was warm to the touch.

"They just brought a bundle in from the laundry; it must have come straight out of the dryer." Lydia responded to the heat by snuggling down under the blanket and smiling.

"Feels good," she said. House looked at Wilson.

"I think she's lost more blood than I first suspected." He turned to Annie. "How long after things went flying did she notice her leg?" Annie thought for a second.

"You pushed her back by me, she called for the ambulance when that guy didn't bother to move his butt and do it…it was a minute or two after that. She said something about her leg hurting and when she saw the blood, she had me reach behind the bar and grab a bunch of those little cocktail napkins; after they were used up, I ran to the ladies room and got all the paper towel I could. While she was using that, I found the first aid kit and we started to use the gauze from there. It was bleeding for quite a bit." House looked down at her leg; he saw her shoes were still on. He removed the right one, then went to remove the left; her foot was stuck, not from swelling, but as if something sticky was holding it in. He gave a hard tug, which elicited a slight moan from Lydia.

"Don't tickle my feet; I'm not in the mood."

"I'm not either," House said as he examined her shoe and foot; the blood had actually made a small puddle in Lydia's shoe and had started to dry. She had definitely lost more blood than was first thought. House looked at Wilson.

"Find a flashlight. I'll be right back." Wilson started opening drawers until he finally found one. House returned a minute or two later with a bunch of medical supplies.

"Fraulein, I'm going to inject some Lidocane around the wound to numb it, so we can clean it out; you're going to feel some small pinches, OK?"

"OK," she said with a very drowsy quality to her voice. Wilson glanced over at House.

"You know she may need a transfusion," he said. House wouldn't look at him; he just nodded and continued to lay out the supplies he had gathered.

"If she needs a transfusion, I'll donate it," Annie said. "She gave enough to me after the attack; it's about time I returned it." Wilson smiled.

"Why don't we wait and see if she even needs it. Babe, why don't you wait outside the door? You don't need to see this."

"No; this isn't any big deal. Besides, she stayed with me, I'll stay with her." Annie moved up to stand next to Lydia; while she tucked the blanket further around her, House and Wilson washed their hands and grabbed gloves. House drew the Lidocane and taking a deep breath, started to make a series of injections just under the skin around the edges of the wound.

"Where the hell is Chase? It didn't take this long to drain out all of Keith Richard's blood and replace it." House had removed the tape that was holding the gauze, but left the gauze itself covering just the wound while he administered the anastetic; now, he removed the soaked pads. The wound immediately started spurting a significant flow of blood.

"It's an artery; worse than I first thought," noted House. "Grab the syringe and keep giving me suction," he said to Wilson. House picked up tweezers and tried to see the pieces of glass. "Get the flashlight."

"House, I'm not going to be able to handle both at once," Wilson said. "Not and stay out of your way while you're in there."

"I'll hold the flashlight," Annie said. She went to the end of the table and picked up the light from the metal tray. "Do I need gloves?"

"No, you're not going to need anything; bring it closer to me," House commanded Annie as he tried to see into the wound.

"House, we can't get a draw on this guy; I've got a call into….what the hell?" Chase walked in on the scene of House, Wilson and Annie all working on Lydia's leg.

"She's borderline shock. The glass nicked the posterior tibial artery; she had a pool of blood in her shoe besides all the other absorbent things that were tried to get it to stop. This has got to be closed up." Chase quickly washed his hands and grabbed gloves.

"Wilson, switch with me," Chase said. He took the syringe out of Wilson's hands and continued providing a clear view of the wound for House who had removed two small pieces of glass from the area.

"I think there's only one more," House said. He moved the tweezers to his left and felt the sliver of glass. "Got you, you bastard," he said as he pulled it out.

"Open the surgical pack and pull out the needle with 0-2 thread," directed Chase. Wilson reached over the metal tray and did as Chase asked.

"Give me the syringe," said House. Chase flushed the wound and after drying it, began to stitch up the artery; it was proving difficult since it was behind a portion of muscle.

"I'll head back over to the kid and see what's happening," Wilson said as he took of the bloodied gloves.

"Tell them to not even bother with the veins; they've probably all collapsed. Do an arterial puncture and use that for the tests," said House. Wilson nodded and stopped next to Annie on his way out.

"Are you doing OK?" he asked. Annie never took her eyes off the wound on Lydia's leg; she wanted to make sure they could see what they were doing without any problems.

"I'm fine," she said. "Didn't someone say this was used as an OB/GYN room?"

"Yeah, that is what it's used for. Why?" Annie shook her head.

"All the OB/GYN doctors I've ever been to have one of those big, bright lights on a stand. How come this room doesn't have one?" Wilson quickly turned his head and looked around the room.

"You're right; not only is that missing, but so is the rolling stool a doctor would sit on…in any room."

"Cupboards were more than a little bare in here; there was only one size of gloves in the room, the hand cleanser is almost empty, we just used the last of the paper towels and you're lucky you found that flashlight," House said. "I had to beg, borrow and threaten," he said nodding toward his cane, "to get what I managed to bring in." He watched as Chase finished closing off the artery.

"I'm going to use something finer to close the outside so it doesn't leave a scar."

"Let me go see what's happening with the kid; I'll be right back," Wilson said as he disappeared through the doorway. House didn't have to keep the suction going the way he had been, so he put the syringe down and took off the gloves that were completely turned red by blood; he moved to the head of the bed, until he was in Lydia's line of sight.

"Hey, Fraulein," he said, reaching under the blanket for her hand. Lydia turned her head to look at him; when she made eye contact with House, she smiled. "Chase has stopped the bleeding. Now he's going to close you up with some fancy stuff so you don't look like the Creature in 'Young Frankenstein.'" Lydia laughed; House knew it was one of her favorite movies, so she would appreciate the reference. "Listen, you've lost a lot of blood; might be good idea to refuel." Lydia shook her head back and forth vigorously.

"No, don't be ridiculous, I'm fine," she protested.

"Lydia, if you tried to stand up right now, you'd go crashing to the floor," said Chase. "The transfusion would be a good idea; it won't take long and then you can get out of here, go home and get some rest."

"And I'm going to provide the blood, so there will be no question as to its source," Annie pointed out.

"What? Annie…Greg…" Lydia was both overwhelmed and confused.

"Look, we haven't even discussed that yet," House said looking back and forth between the two women. "First thing, is to finish sewing the rag doll back together; then we'll talk about replacing the missing stuffing." Lydia started to squirm around a bit and pushed the blanket down.

"Lydia, try to hold still while I'm doing this; I'm almost finished," requested Chase. "You're not feeling anything, are you?"

"No, I just wanted to take the blanket off a little because I don't feel as cold." Lydia looked up at House. "Greg, could I have something to drink?" House made a face.

"I'll see if they actually have anything stashed away around here; the lack of supplies and equipment is annoying as all hell." He let out a sigh. "The cafeteria is on the other side of the building, but…"

"But there's always the vending machines," Wilson said as he walked back into the room. He was carrying some drinks and some snacks.

"Let's sit you up so you can drink," House said as he went behind the stretcher. "Have we finished patching up dolly or can't I move her yet?" he asked Chase.

"Actually, I'm done. Thanks," he said to Annie. "That was a big help."

"You're welcome." She turned off the flashlight and laid it on the counter where Wilson had placed the snacks. Annie shook her hands out and rubbed her upper arms; they got tired from holding the light up in the air for so long.

"Arms hurt?" Wilson asked.

"Nah, I'm OK." She said with a smile.

"So, what was going on with the patient?" Chase asked Wilson.

"They were able to do the blood draw by using an arterial line; now they're just trying to figure out how exactly to place the urinary catheter."

House had clicked the bar a few times on the stretcher to elevate Lydia's head; he didn't want to put it up too high, or the sudden change in position might make her dizzy. She was trying to get more comfortable with House's help, when Wilson was speaking.

"What do mean trying to figure out the urinary catheter? They grab ahold of his little pee-pee and stick it in," House said. He walked away from Lydia's bedside and approached Wilson.

"Well, it would seem that his little pee-pee, as you put it, isn't so little at the moment."

"So, it's stuck at attention; very patriotic of him. The procedure for putting it in is the same." Wilson looked slightly amused.

"He has a male nurse attending him and he's ….ah….more than a little sympathetic, to the pain it's going to cause, shall we say?" House rolled his eyes.

"I suffer from no such disease; I'll…" House had started to head for the door, then stopped. "Why and how would the kid have a boner if his heart stopped three times?" House asked looking down at the floor. Wilson and Chase both shrugged.

"He wants to make sure everything is back in working order again?" offered Annie. Everyone chuckled except for House.

"He could have waited for an under the hood check-up," quipped House. He looked at Chase.

"Let's go see what's up, pun entirely intended; make sure she drinks and eats something," House directed Wilson and Annie as he pointed at Lydia. He left the room with Chase next to him.

"Yes, sir," Annie said doing a mock salute. She took a can of ginger ale and poured some into a cup that Wilson managed to find. Picking up a package of cookies, Annie walked over to the gurney and handed Lydia the cup. She started to fiddle with the cookies, but had trouble opening them up; Annie finally dropped the package in frustration. Wilson watched the scene, more than a little confused; Annie was clearly upset, he just didn't know why. He moved around to the side of the gurney opposite Annie to give her some space. Reaching over for the cookies, he began to undo the wrapper.

"Annie, calm down; there's no need to be upset," Lydia said taking a sip of the drink she was holding.

"Why did he leave you? So, they're having trouble popping a tube into the guy's penis, what is the big deal? Dr. Chase could have taken care of it by himself; it's bad enough that he abandoned you at the bar…"

"He didn't abandon me," Lydia interrupted. "He left me in the very capable hands of my best friend and a well-skilled doctor, who happened to be his best friend. I didn't feel deserted or abandoned at all." Wilson was holding the cookies out to Lydia; she took one of the treats and started to nibble on it. "Besides, that poor young man had his heart stop twice; and it stopped again here which makes it three times. Was he supposed to just walk away from that?" Annie looked frustrated; she wanted to make a point, but was having great difficulty in finding the right words.

"Of course, I didn't expect him to walk away. But for God's sake, he had blood on his hands; he wasn't even interested in finding out where it came from?"

"It didn't come from the patient and that's all House cares about, is the patient." Wilson figured he was probably going to kick himself later on for getting involved, but he felt like he had no choice. "When House has a case, his focus is entirely single-minded; even when it seems he's pulling a prank on me and that's his focus, or something else has his attention, the case is always swirling in the back of his head. That's how he comes up with these obtuse references that lead him back to the thing that matters most: the case." Annie looked at Wilson with narrowed eyes.

"Is that how you approach things?" she asked with an edge in her voice.

"No. No, it's not. I could spend twenty-four/seven here, not just diagnosing and prescribing, but holding my patients' hands so they aren't afraid or even in some cases, die alone. But I learned a long time ago, in my specialty, if you don't leave some time for yourself and the people in your life, you won't have anything left to give your patients. House….never really had anyone before who made him want to look at anything important beyond these four walls; someone once tried, but…some things got in the way." Wilson laughed. "But, he definitely knows how to have a good time and I've got to say, tonight especially, he was more social and fun loving than I have ever seen him." Wilson looked at Lydia and smiled. "And I know just who to blame that on." Lydia returned his smile as she took another sip of ginger ale.

"Look, I adore Greg, I really do; I owe him more than I can even begin to consider. But this," Annie said pointing to Lydia "is my best friend. And I want and need for her to be happy."

"And I am happy with Greg," Lydia said. "I'm happier that I've ever been."

"With what? Being last on the list of things that matter to him? I worry about you, Lydia; you made a horrible mistake by being so naïve about people once before. If you're going to make the same mistake again…you might as well have stayed with my brother." Annie looked up at Wilson, who had a painful look on his face; she glanced at Lydia who looked the same as she stared at the doorway to the room. Annie turned, as saw the slumped silhouette of House, his chin dropped down onto his chest.

"Well, now that we've determined that I'm not a candidate for boyfriend of the year…" He picked his head up and looked at the three of them; they weren't sure how long he had been standing there, but any amount of time was too long, thought Wilson. House left the doorway quickly and disappeared into the ER.

"Greg!" Lydia yelled. She tossed aside the blanket and started to swing her legs down. "Where are my shoes?"

"They're a mess; you can't possibly put them on. I'll be right back." Wilson rushed out of the room and headed to the door of the ER. He was hoping he was right that House headed this way. Pausing for a moment and listening, he heard the familiar tap of House's cane of the concrete and followed the sound to his right. Wilson rounded the corner of the building and listened; the cane sound had stopped.

"Over here." Wilson moved up a little further past the metal housing unit for the HVAC; he found House there leaning against the casing.

"This isn't one of your usual hangouts," Wilson noted.

"It's hard to walk too far with your tail between your legs."

"House…"

"Guess this is another one I've managed to screw up; when am I going to learn not to bother even trying?"

"You haven't screwed anything up; Lydia's sitting in there saying how happy you've made her. I had to stop her from trying to follow you out here."

"Yeah, but her best friend thinks I'm the scum of the earth; at least she might as well have come out and said that after comparing me to her sadistic ass of a brother." Wilson wiped his hand across his face.

"I don't know what set Annie off tonight, whether it was the trauma of the kid seizing in front us at such close range, or seeing Lydia hurt or the blood or what. But you know she has a better opinion of you than what you just heard. Besides, I've never known you to care about what anyone thinks." House started pacing.

"It makes things a little more difficult when your girlfriend's best friend hates you."

"She doesn't hate you; and that never made a difference with us. You hated all of my girlfriends and I still married some of them."

"That's because some people are as thick as…."

"Greg?" Wilson and House both turned, startled at the sound of Annie's voice. House leaned back against the metal casing again.

"Lydia send you out?" House asked.

"No. I wanted to come talk to you and apologize."

"Why? There's no need to apologize for the truth."

"Please let me explain," Annie said, her voice cracking. "Lydia means so much to me, you have no idea. I was so painfully shy as a kid and she was the one who approached me and brought me out of my shell; she's the one who encouraged me to continue with my music. I know you know the story of the music box." House nodded. "She saved me from just…disappearing as a person. Luckily, my parents were very supportive of my interests, unlike Lydia's. They kept her so sheltered, it wasn't funny; she was picked on and pranked all the time in school, not just for being the new kid, but for having zero street smarts. I had to protect her all the time when she came to live in the embassy in Washington D.C., even as an adult. Once her father died and she had to take over things, it gave her a new found sense of self; the same thing was true when her mother passed. But she was still too trusting of people. I was horrified when I woke up and found out that she actually believed my brother could change; unfortunately, she discovered the hard way that he didn't. I wasn't there to protect her and I'll never forgive myself for that and I never want…to…see…" Annie fell against Wilson sobbing. He put his arms around her and looked up at House. He had closed his eyes and Wilson could see him take several deep breaths.

"I love Lydia more than I thought I was capable of loving someone and we've only been back together a week. I want a life with her. I want to protect her. I want have fun with her and her kids." Annie smiled at the mention of her niece and nephew. "They still scare the hell out of me, but I want to try because I know it'll make her happy." House looked at Annie. "It would go a long way toward helping me make her happy, if I knew you trusted me, that I'm telling the truth." Annie wiped her face with her hand.

"I thought everybody lies." House nodded.

"Got me there. OK, the truth is I'm not scared of her kids; I'm terrified of them." Annie laughed.

"You don't need to be; just call Ben 'Booger Brain' and Elise 'Poopy Panda.'" House gave her a look.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. That's their nicknames for each other. It'll crack them up and drive Lydia crazy. She hates those names." House smiled.

"Cool." Annie broke away from Wilson and gave House a hug; he surprised himself when he responded to it so quickly in kind.

"I'm so glad to see that Lydia's grown out of being naïve and learned how to make smart choices."

"Actually the three of us are pretty stupid," House said as Annie moved back to Wilson; he started to walk back toward the ER.

"How so?" Wilson asked.

"We're all out here and we left Lydia alone inside."

"Oh, I didn't even think…" Annie said.

"House!" Chase called. "The patient's awake. He wants to try and leave."


	4. Chapter 4

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Four – "Twists and Turns"

By: Purpleu

"Tell him he didn't say 'Mother, May I?' I'll be in to discuss this and any other moronic ideas he may have in a minute," House called to Chase. He shook his head as he started to walk again; he had paused on his way back into the hospital as did Wilson and Annie when they heard the crazy thing the patient wanted to do.

"How can he even think about leaving?" Annie asked. "His heart has stopped three times in the span of a couple of hours. He's certainly not being rational at the moment."

"The problem with this world is that most decisions aren't rational," House said. "If they were, the Kardashians wouldn't have their own TV show and Dan Quayle wouldn't have been a heartbeat away from the job of president."

"How are we going to keep him?" Wilson asked.

"We'll put him on a seventy-two hour psych hold if we have to," House said as they entered the hospital through the sliding doors of the emergency bay. "Anybody who wants to leave without treatment after what he's just been through is certifiably insane. Plus he owes us after he wrecked our plans for the evening and injured my girlfriend," he said to Wilson. House stopped walking. "I want to check on Lydia, but I have to go convince this kid not to be an idiot," he said looking in the direction of Lydia's room, and then down to the bed where Scotty was.

"Greg, go down and talk to that boy before he makes a mistake that could cost him his life," Annie said. She looked at Wilson and smiled. "We'll go check on Lydia and let her know everything is OK with us." She looked back at House. "All of us." House put his head down and looked away from Annie.

"OK, but do me favor? Give her something for me?"

"Sure, what…" Annie held out her hand to take something from him; but House took a step toward her, leaned over slightly and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. With that he turned and walked away in the direction of Scotty's cubicle. Annie shook her head.

"He can be charming," she noted.

"He never used to be," Wilson said. "Maybe it's the effect of having two beautiful women around him that's doing it." He gave Annie's hand a squeeze as they walked toward Lydia.

"I'm sure he thinks Lydia is beautiful; which is how it should be since he's in love with her. Me…well, after what I said, I don't think I'm very high up on his list of beautiful things in this world." Wilson stopped walking and looked around as he spoke.

"House's list of beautiful things is very short and very limited; you're right in saying Lydia's on it. But, I…I think he'd put you on there, too; mainly because you're so important to Lydia, but I also think that he has a great deal of respect for you because you survived the attack with the grace and dignity that you have." Wilson looked Annie in the eyes. "I know I…I think you're an amazing, incredible person," Wilson said hesitantly. "And I…" He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"James, a week ago, I didn't like talking to anyone I was meeting for the first time; a clerk in a store, a waiter…anyone. Tonight, I had the confidence and ease to speak to the waiter using the bit of Italian I know," Annie said laughing. "It was wonderful! Because that's the person I always had been before all this happened to me; fun-loving adventurous…" Annie looked away. "There are some things that remind me of the actual attack and then there are other things that remind me of the stupid choices I made leading up to the attack and they make me mad. I have to learn how to sort these situations out and respond to them appropriately. I know I have a long way to go with things…but I'm starting to feel like I'll be able to move ahead because…I have someone I can trust to catch me when I stumble." Annie squeezed Wilson's hand as she took a step toward him. She leaned into him and gave him a long, deep kiss.

"Um…I know that this isn't…the most romantic place in the world to say this," Wilson said as he looked around the ER, "but…"

"Wait," said Annie as she put her arms around Wilson's neck. "I know how to make it a little bit better; on the count of three…" she said with a grin. "One…two…" Wilson was smiling broadly by this point. "Three."

"I love you," they said in unison. They both were laughing so much, that they barely managed to kiss.

"I'm so very happy you came into my life," Annie said. "I'm finally starting to feel alive again."

"I'm really…really happy, too," Wilson said as he ran his fingertips down Annie's cheek. "And I know you have a long way to go on some things, but I promise I'll be as patient and…supportive as you need me to be." Annie gave Wilson a very gentle, sweet kiss.

"I know you will," she said. "C'mon; let's go make Lydia smile." Annie took Wilson's hand and they headed toward Lydia's room. Now if only House were in such a happy place…

"Look, you can't keep me here; I'll rip this tube out and just leave," Scotty said in a very determined manner. The nurse attending him just stood by, unsure what to do. Scotty was trying to undo the tape that was securing the covering on his IV.

"That tube isn't the problem," House said as he approached Scotty's bedside. "It's the one stuck into your Wee Willie Winkle; you yank on that one too hard and all thoughts of using it for any purpose will permanently disappear no matter how many little blue pills you take." Scotty looked at House completely confused.

"I…I don't take any of that stuff; I'm only twenty years old. I don't need it." House shook his head.

"Well, someone seems to think they need a little more bang; and not necessarily for their buck. Although the rhyme potential is definitely there."

"Who the hell are you? And where's the doctor I was talking to?"

"I'm Dr. House; I'm one of two doctors who saved your life tonight. I assume the doctor you're looking for is Dr. Chase; he's probably checking on the stitches he had to put into an artery in my girlfriend's leg, so she'd keep from bleeding out. See, she got cut when you spazzed and sent bottles of Bud shattering in every direction." Scotty had been leaning forward to confront House; but now hearing that someone was injured due to his actions seem to take the edge off of his attitude a little.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry," he said. "Is she OK?" House nodded.

"Had the crap scared out of her and her best friend. Who is dating my best friend. Who is the other doctor who saved your life tonight. Following me so far?" Poor Scotty looked befuddled.

"I…I'm not sure…but that doesn't matter right now," he said waving his hands dismissively. "Why would you think I've taken something for erectile dysfunction?"

"Because anyone who had to get zapped repeatedly just to stay alive and can still look like that," House said as he pulled back the sheet and lifted Scotty's hospital gown. "Either has a steel rod implanted in there or some pharmaceutical company is making a mint on them." Scotty vigorously shook his head as House replaced the covers over him.

"I swear to you, I am not taking anything."

"Hmm…maybe we should ask your girlfriend…what was the waitress's name again? Mindy? Millie?..."

"Misty," Scotty said.

"I should have known it would be something foggy and damp," said House wryly.

"Look, things have been a little off between Misty and me lately, but that's because I've got a lot on my mind. My parents have basically disowned me: they've kicked me out and cut off my medical insurance, which I begged them not to do. If it weren't for my scholarship, I wouldn't be able to go to school. I make money picking up odd jobs here and there because no one will keep me on after I have one of my spasms at work." Scotty hung his head down. "Things have been tough. But there is just no way Misty would try and slip me anything."

"Your OJ been tasting funny recently?" House asked as he looked up at the monitor next to the bed.

"Yeah, it has; but Misty just switched to a new brand. I figured it was that."

"I think Dewdrop has been crushing a few of manhood's best friend and adding them into your morning wakeup call." Scotty nodded his head sadly.

"Now it makes sense; most of my classes end in the early afternoon. That's when Misty is waking up after working the late shift at the bar; so when I come home from school, I'm all set to go. And tonight when I stopped by to try and pick up some extra work, I said I was tired….

"And she offered you some OJ as a pick me up, so to speak. Only it worked a little too well; she must have given you more than you usually get doped with, and because your body wasn't used to it, your heart started racing. It either triggered a seizure or you had one of your usual ones at the same time; which is more likely since you were rubbing your temples at the bar right before your first seizure." Scotty looked confused.

"First seizure? I never have more than one at a time." House regarded the young man carefully; he believed Scotty was telling the truth, at least the truth as he knew it. Either way, House felt it was worth pursuing the matter with the kid.

"So, tell me: Is Joe really your uncle?" House asked. Scotty nodded reluctantly.

"He's my dad's brother; how did you know?"

"I overheard you talking to him at the bar. You've been having seizures since you were a kid and either your parents didn't believe you or they never noticed. They don't sound like candidates for parents of the year no matter how it went down."

"Look, I'd be glad to tell you the whole sad story," Scotty said as Chase walked over, "But, it's just not worth it. The couple of specialists I went to said what I was describing didn't make any sense; one accused me of faking it just so I would be prescribed drugs. But that was because my parents talked to him first and put the thought into his head." Scotty's words struck a nerve with House; he remembered the delay in diagnosing his leg because he was accused of trying to score drugs. An assumption made about his character, left him the crippled jerk he was today…

"House?" House realized Chase was speaking.

"What?" He looked at Scotty. "Sorry, I was thinking about a previous case that relates to this one. What was the last part you said?"

"I said that the biggest problem is that I don't have any medical insurance; since this isn't life threatening, by law, they don't have to keep me. I know that routine all too well." Scotty dropped his head. "I'm screwed no matter what I do." House thought for a moment.

"No, you're not. I'll give you the lowdown on how to work the system in a minute." He gestured with his head to Chase and started to walk away from Scotty. Chase followed. "I assume you came from checking on Lydia."

"Yeah, she's doing fine; I don't think there will be any scarring. She actually needed more stitches internally than externally."

"Are Wilson and Annie in there with her? Everything seemed OK?" House asked cautiously. Chase gave him a funny look.

"Fine. Why?" House made a face.

"Annie got a little pissed about something that happened before; I wanted to make sure her knickers weren't still in a twist."

"You mean about you abandoning Lydia to take care of the kid? Nah, she seems fine." House looked at Chase incredulously.

"How the hell…?"

"I walked in when they were talking about it." Chase shrugged. "Honestly, after talking with Annie last night, I'm surprised she doesn't have Lydia followed and wired for sound. She is unbelievably protective of her; I think Annie feels she owes Lydia something after the way things happened during the ten years or so she was in Mayfield. I guess…" Chase spread his arms out. "Between the blood and the intense nature of the seizures and seeing Lydia in pain, it rattled her." House nodded.

"Yeah, and she expected me to dive in and protect Lydia, take care of her; which I failed to do."

"You helped me stitch her up; the only thing more you could have done would have been to do the closing yourself. House, you did the best you could. If you had let that guy die, I think everyone would be more upset with you for that. Maybe," said Chase after thinking for a moment, "Annie's not used to having someone else be there for Lydia; for years, it's been them against the world. Maybe, she's jealous and was willing to find fault with her rival." House let out a long sigh as he looked at the floor.

"This is why I always stayed away from emotions; logic and reasoning doesn't know the meaning of the word 'jealousy'." He shook his head and looked at Chase. "Can Lydia leave?"

"Yeah, the Lydocane is starting to wear off and she's becoming uncomfortable; I wanted to give her something for the pain," Chase said. The problem is all of the drug stores are closed by now, so there's no point in writing a script."

"And the pharmacy here has a stick up their butts about giving drugs to a patient that's not officially registered."

"Well, that's why if Lydia doesn't mind being eighty-six years old with a broken collar bone, who goes by the name Gertrude…I think I can get her some Tylenol with codeine," Chase said as he nodded in the direction of a lady with white hair and her arm in a sling. House smiled.

"I have taught you well, young Jedi." House said using his infamous imitation of Obi-Wan-Kenobi from "Star Wars."

"You have taught me well," Chase said bowing. "I'm going to go start the process of snagging the contraband."

"Hey, why don't you make it Vicodin instead of the Tylenol; it'll do more to take the edge off the pain and let her sleep." Chase had started to walk away; his back was turned as House suggested the Vicodin. He hesitated for a minute before turning around.

"I suggested that to Lydia, but she said no." An uneasy feeling came over House.

"Did you explain to her it would be better to help control the pain?"

"Yes," Chase said slowly. "She said she's never taken Vicodin before and doesn't know how it will react on her. She's got a telephone conference of some sort early in the day tomorrow and she doesn't want to take any chances." House closed his eyes and nodded his head in recognition.

"Her ex's mouthpiece called and said the ex wanted to discuss something important about a custody issue; she's nervous as hell about it." Chase laughed.

"From what Annie's told us about her brother, I'd be nervous, too. The guy's a dirtbag."

"And then some," commented House. "I'm going to check on the wounded warrior; you get the meds for her and then go back to the kid. Tell him I'll be right over there to discuss our plans for screwing with the system." Chase nodded and walked away. House took a deep breath and moved toward the room where Lydia was. When he got to the doorway of the exam room, he smiled at the sight; Lydia was sitting in a wheelchair, her left leg extended straight out and a pair of light blue disposable hospital booties on her feet. Despite the gash and ugly looking stitches above her ankle, she looked adorable.

"Hey, Fraulein; how are you feeling?" Lydia instantly broke into a huge smile when she heard House's voice; now the sight of him coming next to the wheelchair and bending down to kiss her, made everything all right.

"I'm doing fine; Dr. Chase says I'm ready to get out of here," she said, reaching for House's hand. House smiled, but he dreaded saying what was coming next.

"Yeah, I just spoke to Chase; he's snagging you some of the stuff I took last week to take care of the pain. Look, I want to get you out of here," he said as he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, "But I've got to talk to the kid a little while longer. This whole thing has more going on behind the scenes than a Lady Gaga concert." Wilson looked concerned.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"To start with, the kid doesn't have medical insurance; it seems the parents dropped him from their coverage when they disowned him."

"That…will usually happen," Wilson noted. "Without coverage, we're only obligated to treat and stabilize him. We can search out another hospital that's willing to take him; then our legal obligation to him is over."

"Spoken like a true administrative pencil pusher," noted House.

"But, legally, you can't turn him over to another hospital if he has a life-threatening situation and transporting him would put him in potential danger," Lydia pointed out with a smile as she looked at House. He smiled and laughed as he shook his head.

"Are you sure we're not related? 'Cause I wouldn't want to be committing any kind of incest. I mean, my family was in Germany for a while and we know my mother was a hussy." Lydia was laughing so hard, she could hardly speak.

"Yes, I'm sure we're not related." Wilson and Annie watched the whole scene in amusement; Lydia had clued Annie in about House's parentage a while ago, so she got the joke.

"Ahem…I hate to break this up, but getting back to the patient…" Wilson said.

"It's simple," explained House. "You and I and a bar full of patrons and the band that was playing there, we all saw him have the seizure and code tonight; then as he was about to be transported, the same thing happened again. This time it was in front of the ambulance EMT's as well as me. The third time he decided to play living earthquake and stop having any heart beats or respirations was here, in front of a room full of medical professionals; and I use that term loosely. We have a ton of unbiased witnesses."

"So, we can make the argument that, at the very least we need to stabilize his cardiac issues before we can send him somewhere else," Wilson said.

"And after three cardiac arrests in the span of less than an hour, I don't think anyone could expect that he would be rushed out the door in just a day or even two," Lydia commented. "I would say…oh…what do you think is protocol, Dr. House? Twenty-four to forty-eight hours per incident?" House gave her a blank look.

"That's it; I'm checking our DNA," he said looking up at Wilson and Annie. He had assumed a semi-kneeling position next to the wheelchair and had his arm around Lydia; she was resting her head on his shoulder. "Actually, three to six days should give me and my team more than enough time to figure this one out; that's usually our average."

"Six days would be almost impossible; three is even pushing it," Wilson said.

"And who is going to insist we put the kid out? The acting, co-interim dean of medicine?" House asked sarcastically with a smile.

"'Co-interim dean' is the operative phrase; I've got to get Foreman to agree with me on this," Wilson pointed out. "And then there's the medical review board."

"Foreman's most likely going to wet himself at the thought of another neurological case; as far as the review board…."

"They pretty much all hate you. No amount of smooth talking is going to convince them to say yes to keeping him." Wilson had started pacing when all the administrative talk came up; he still couldn't get used to being in this kind of position. "Neurological, huh? You're right; Foreman's going to love it." House nodded; he was lost in thought for a second, but then he finally looked at Lydia.

"I want to get you out of here; since you've perked up after having your juice and cookies, you obviously don't need a transfusion," said House indicating the snacks Wilson grabbed.

"I didn't think I would; you give away far more blood than I lost when you make a donation." House and Wilson looked at each other.

"Ummm…actually, no," said Wilson. "The glass didn't just nick the artery; I could see it when I was helping House and it was almost severed all the way through."

"What?" yelled Annie. She looked at Lydia in horror.

"That's why I was glad Chase showed up when he did; if I had removed the last piece of glass in there, it would have opened it totally and the blood would have really started to pour out. When he came in, he took the suction syringe from Wilson and put pressure on it so I could take out the glass; then I held the syringe against it while he stitched it up. It was a small artery, but it was still an artery, not just a vein or two," House said looking at Lydia, who appeared unsettled upon hearing the extent of her injury. House ran his hand down the back of her head several times. "I want you home and resting with that leg up, but I don't want to leave you alone in case you feel dizzy again. I need…maybe an hour at most to get this kid's story and then get out of here."

"Well, I have an idea: I don't know about anyone else, but I'm actually hungry," Lydia said. "Maybe it was the promise of those handmade potato chips that we missed out on that's getting to me. Didn't you say that Cherry Valley Deli is open twenty-four hours and they have warm sandwiches and sides in addition to traditional deli fare?" she asked House.

"Yeah, they've got a huge selection and good food to boot. I think I may have a copy of the menu in my glove compartment," said House.

"We can order something to eat from there and take it back to your place. By the time we do that, you may be ready to get out of here," Lydia suggested. "Of course, that's if it sounds OK to you two," she said looking at Annie and Wilson. "You could babysit me until Greg gets home." Annie smiled.

"I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of hungry, too. And I'm way too wound up right now to even think of sleeping. Some food would be great."

"Works for me; I could use something to eat myself," Wilson said with a shrug.

"Great," House said as he smiled at Lydia. He wanted to just leave with them, go back to his place and fall asleep with Lydia in his arms; he knew there'd be no nookie tonight, but he didn't care. He just wanted her to hold her and make sure she knew that she could count on him, despite what Annie may have thought; she did apologize, but House was sure there was a lingering doubt in the back of Annie's mind that he wouldn't be there for Lydia when she needed him. He wanted to prove her wrong. House leaned on the wheelchair as he attempted to stand up; he winced and grabbed at his leg.

"Greg, are you OK?" Lydia asked after he finally stood.

"Yeah, the damn leg is sore as hell. I was running on adrenaline back at the bar when the kid seized a second time; I stepped up into the ambulance leading with the wrong leg and stressed this one out. I can rub some of that massage oil you bought me into it when we get home."

"I can do that, too, you know." House gave Lydia a look.

"As much as I would love to say yes, I'll take a raincheck; you need to elevate that leg." Lydia folded her arms and pouted.

"Spoilsport."

"Tease," House countered.

"Here we go; mission accomplished," said Chase as he entered the room. "It turns out Gertrude is one tough old lady; they're only sending her home with six pills."

"Were sending her home with six pills," corrected House. "Hey, how come I only got to take four pills home?" he said in a whinny voice as he looked at Wilson.

"You didn't have any broken bones," noted Chase. Wilson nodded his head in Chase's direction as if to say "thank you."

"Wait a minute, who is Gertrude?" Annie asked.

"And why does it sound like I have her medicine?" asked Lydia. Chase looked at Lydia sheepishly as he explained how he went about obtaining the painkillers for her.

"Take them back; take them back to that poor woman right now. I cannot, in good conscience take medicine away from a suffering eighty-six year old. No, no…" Lydia said shaking her head.

"I arranged for her to get a replacement dose; in the meantime, the pharmacy will blame the ER, the ER will blame the pharmacy. It will all be great fun," said Chase.

"In the meantime, that poor woman is going to be in agony," Annie protested.

"No, she won't; I checked her chart, made sure she isn't allergic to anything, saw what meds she takes and I checked her vitals. Then I was able to shoot a small amount of Dilaudid into her IV while she was leaning back with her eyes closed; it was only about an eighth of a dose, but at least it will take the edge off for her."

"She could report you!" Lydia exclaimed.

"For what? Making her feel better? Besides, I was wearing a surgical mask. She won't be able to identify me." House was grinning from ear to ear.

"I'd say you were a quick study, but you've been here too many years; it's more like you've learned it through the process of Housemosis." Wilson was holding his forehead.

"You understand, I was not present in this room for any of this conversation; I did not hear…that this incident took place," he said.

"Well, I did hear it and I'm still not entirely sure I'm comfortable with the whole thing," Lydia said. "Are you sure that lady is going to be OK?" she asked Chase.

"She's fine; I gave the medicine about twenty to twenty-five minutes ago, and she's had no adverse reaction. In fact, she was sitting up and talking to a young girl, probably her granddaughter. She was cute, too," Chase noted.

"Down, oh lusty, cuddly koala," said House. "You've killed off any chance of scoring in that in that game park by the fact you've doped up her grandma."

"Ah, the things we do for medicine and friends," Chase said smiling at Lydia who was still rather uncomfortable with the whole charade.

"You did make some kind of notation in her chart that she had the Dilaudid, in case there's a problem down the line?" she asked.

"Of course," Chase said. "I put down the exact medicine and dose and signed it."

"You signed your name to it?" Annie questioned. She was mortified by what was going on.

"Of course I didn't sign my name to it." Chase looked at House and then Wilson, who was already trying to suppress a smile. "It was signed by one of our esteemed colleagues, Dr. Squiggly Line."

"Who?" Annie asked, rather confused

"Dr. Squiggly Line." Chase took a note pad from his pocket and wrote exactly what he said: a squiggly line. He showed it first to Annie and then to Lydia; they just looked on in disbelief as House, Wilson and Chase exchanged fist pumps and laughed. "Well if doctors are going to have their balls busted for lousy handwriting, we might as well live up to expectations." Lydia rolled her eyes and looked at Annie who stood covering her face.

"These, these are the kind of people you introduce me to after I have been in a psychotic state for ten years," Annie said in wonderment.

"Yes, well, I wanted you to be comfortable…and you're loving it," Lydia said smiling.

"Yes, I am," Annie said happily as she slipped her arm around Wilson's waist.

"Oh, I stopped by to see the patient and spoke to him a bit before I came over here. I explained that we were just checking on Lydia and he had no problem with it."

"Good. Did you handle the blood and urine draws the way we usually do?" House asked.

"Yeah. I gave the lab half the samples and held on to the other part so we can run the tests." Wilson looked puzzled.

"You run the same tests on the same samples? Why?"

"Because I don't trust the gorillas who work in the lab to do the tests right. Especially the ones working the night shift. Anything coming out of the ER is questionable; we've gotten wrong results from them since the Stone Age."

"But…that's not only a waste of money, it's a waste of your employees' time and the hospital's resources," Wilson said.

"It's not a waste of my employees' time," House said. "While they're waiting for the results, they have a chance to catch up on their Sudoku."

"Dr. House?" an urgent voice called out. A second later, Slick, the ambulance EMT was standing at the doorway to Lydia's room. "You'd better get over to that kid; he's talking gibberish of some kind." Chase quickly moved toward the door.

"Record everything the kid says. Use the video on your phone," House called after them. He looked down at the floor, his mind going a million miles an hour in two different directions.

"Greg, just tell me what you want from the deli and then go to that boy. See if you can figure out what he's saying; it might be something that can help you find out what's wrong with him." House looked at Lydia; he was torn by the situation and grateful for her understanding.

"Boneless rib hero, Irish nachos."

"Boneless rib hero, Irish nachos," Lydia repeated. "Now, go!" she said insistently. House hesitated, then leaned down and gave Lydia a passionate kiss.

"I love you," he said as he hurried out of the room.

"I love you, too," she replied. Lydia smiled as she closed her eyes and hoped that Annie would come to understand and accept just how happy she was with House.

As House neared Scotty's bedside, he could hear the young man talking.

"Blue…I….Orange…Purple…Purple…Red…no, no, no! I! I…Blue….see...Red…Pur...Purple…3, 5, 7, 5, 7…Pink." Scotty who had been leaning forward, his body trembling, now collapsed backward in total exhaustion. House had been keeping one eye on Scotty and the other on his vitals monitor while the scenario was going on. While in the midst of spewing out the various words, letters and numbers, his pulse and respirations went through the roof; as soon as he quieted down, the monitor numbers returned to normal; everything was as one would expect there.

"What the hell was that?" a voice from behind House said. House turned to see Slick standing to his left and Chase to his right.

"You get any of that down on camera?" House asked.

"I think we both did," Chase said indicating himself and Slick.

"Yeah, I think we both got here at just about the same time with our phones pulled out and our cameras on. The only difference may be perspective; I shot it from the left side of the gurney, he shot it from the right," Slick said, motioning toward Chase. "I'm Slick; I'm with the ambulance crew that brought this kid in." He extended his hand.

"Dr. Chase" he said accepting the gesture. "Did he do anything like this in the ambulance?" Slick shook his head.

"What happened in the ambulance was more typical of a seizure you'd see with…say…Epilepsy. This…this was strange. Dr. House, wouldn't you say that's right? Dr. House?" House had rolled Scotty onto his side and was examining his spinal column. He felt along each vertebra; for what, neither Slick nor Chase knew; one thing was clear: House was being very intense and thorough in his search.

"What I think," House said as he rolled Scotty back, "is that there are way too many possibilities to try and hazard a guess. A tumor or malformation that has become worse as he's gotten older and bigger, a constriction in blood flow to part of his brain, genetic nerve damage…there are too many options to go throwing speculation out there until we get some test results, the rest of my team and a white board in front of me. What I need right now, is to talk to the star of the show. The question is how to wake him up." Scotty appeared to be in a deep slumber, his eyes shut and his hands by his side.

"Let's just try calling his name," Chase suggested. "Scotty. Scotty," he said as he shook the young man's shoulder. "Scott Andrews." No response to even his full name.

"I know how to get his attention," House said moving next to the bedside. He reached under the covers that lay on top of Scotty's body and gave a yank.

"AHHG! DAMN!" Scotty screamed out in pain.

"Knew that would work," House said as he removed his hands from under the covers and took a look at the catheter bag to see the state of Scotty's urine: it was a darker yellow that would normally be expected, but no foaming or bubbling. Most likely there was just some dehydration going on, but nothing involving the kidneys or bladder. There was also no blood, which meant House didn't do any damage when he used the kid's privates for an alarm clock. House looked around as Scotty caught his breath: Chase was gripping the bed rail trying to control his empathetic reaction to what House just did; Slick was standing there totally stunned.

"You are one nasty S.O.B.," Slick said to House.

"I'm efficient," House countered. "You ready to tell me your sad, soap opera-ish life's story?" House asked addressing Scotty.

"Why…the…hell…did you do that to me?"

"Because we need to begin the healing process," House explained. "In front of multitudes, including this gentleman here," he said indicating Slick, "you had three separate cardiac incidents where your heart and lungs decided they needed a nap. That buys you some time as far as the not having insurance aspect of things; with any kind of luck maybe three days. After that we're going to have to pull something out of our butts to keep you here. I'd much rather it be that I reached into my magic bag and pulled out the answer to your problem; the only way I'm going to do that is by getting some information from you." Scotty had regained his composure enough to form a rational thought.

"You're willing to be my doctor? I…I can't possibly pay you; maybe a few years down the road I can design a house for you or something, but…" House looked at him curiously.

"Architecture major?"

"Engineering and architecture," Scotty said nodding. "Montclair State College. I graduate this coming May." Chase looked at the chart he held for Scotty.

"It says here that you're twenty, graduating kind of early aren't you?" House could tell from Chase's tone that he was suspicious of the kid.

"I took a lot of core courses while I was in high school; foreign languages, basic science, some fine arts like music. I graduated high school with thirty-six college credits."

"Not exactly the kind of kid you'd imagine would be a strung out junkie," Slick commented. House and Chase turned to look at him in surprise. "I was talking to his Uncle Joe before; the story he tells and the picture I'm getting here are two radically different things."

"That's the problem," Scotty said desperately. "My parents got this idea in their heads and they won't let go of it. And now they're telling everyone else."

"Well, your uncle was going to call your parents tonight and tell them you were here; I convinced him to give it until morning, so that maybe Dr. House had a chance to make some progress with you on things," Slick said. "But you probably are going to see them here tomorrow." Scotty looked relieved.

"Thank you, thank you so much," he said.

"Hey, Slick, we're ready to move out," Jonesy, the driver of the ambulance said as he came over to Scotty's cubicle.

"Be right there," Slick answered. "Time to see what other fun we can find on the city streets. Dr. Chase, it was nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Chase said shaking Slick's hand.

"Young man, good luck." He looked at House. "You've got yourself a good doc here; give him your trust and I'll bet you he'll give you some answers." Scotty smiled weakly.

"Thanks, I will. And thanks for everything you did tonight."

"You're very welcome," Slick said as he shook Scotty's hand.

"I'll be right back," said House. He moved a few steps away from the bed and Slick followed. "What was your specialty? House asked.

"Endocrinology; but diagnostics also held an interest for me, too. The team approach to it, putting heads together and lobbing ideas off each other…to me that's a hell of a lot more effective than one guy pondering the problem and scratching his head," Slick said. "How did you know?" House looked around the ER.

"The way you spoke, observations you made; ultimately it was the fact that you had unfortunate dealings with the bastard barrister that led me to believe you were an M.D.; besides, you don't strike me as the kind of guy who would be happy with being a nurse."

"Nah, asking people on a scale of one to ten how much something hurts isn't for me. If they didn't say ten, I'd be asking them what the hell they were doing at the hospital." House smiled and then did something he never did: he extended his hand first.

"Good luck," House said. Slick grasped his hand.

"You, too. Mind if I stop by in a day or two to check on him?" he asked indicated Scotty. House shrugged.

"Be my guest." Slick turned and headed for the emergency room bay doors.

"Nice guy," Chase commented when House came back near the bed. "Scotty, tell Dr. House what you told me about why your parents are so hyper about drug issues and what happened to your older brother."

"My brother Adam was eight years older than me and when he was sixteen, he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Everyone was freaked out, not only over the diagnosis itself, but the fact that he got it at such a young age. Usually it happens to people when they are fifty or something like that, right?"

"Yeah," House said. "Anyone else in your family have neurological problems?"

"My mother's brother was diagnosed with ALS when he was only thirty-seven and my father's sister found out she had Multiple Sclerosis when she was forty-four."

"Being ganged up on from all sides," noted House. "Continue."

"My brother completely freaked out when he got the news and found out how the disease would progress. So, while he already occasionally did some pot and…I guess some other stuff, although I was too young to know exactly what. But Adam was really heavily into it; he wound up in the hospital a bunch of times and according to what I heard my parents say, it was for OD'ing; but, I mean, who knows? He had this horrible disease, who knows what was causing what. Then one night, he didn't come home and the cops found him the next day in the basement of a friend's house; there were six or seven other people there, but they were all too stoned to help him."

"That's a shame," said Chase. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"He'd probably be dead by now, anyway," House said coldly. "When did your problems start?"

"I first noticed that something weird was going on when I was about nine, so a year after my brother was diagnosed. When I would look at the blackboard or read a book, the letters were different colors and they were always the same colors. The letter A was always red, the letter H was always blue and so on; the same was true for numbers. Then it became that when people spoke, certain sounds would change the color of things that were in the foreground; the background was a less intense version of the colors. Forget it when I started taking violin lessons; it was like an acid trip."

"Did your parents take you to a doctor?" Chase asked. Scotty sighed.

"With everything going on with my brother, I was afraid to tell them; my brother was dying of this disease and I'm seeing colors. I figured they'd think I was trying to get attention or something. Then one day, about two years after Adam died, I had this spasm, it was small compared to what I have now, but I still had it. I didn't tell them for a while; but then one day when I was around twelve, almost thirteen, I had one of the spasms in front of them, only by now they had gotten worse. So I went to see a bunch of doctors including some neurologists, but they said that it didn't make sense. They said I was mixing up two different problems, so I must be faking it because I just read about the stuff, I wasn't really experiencing it."

"They ran tests, I assume," House said.

"Yeah, and they all said that there was nothing wrong with me. Then I started having really bad spasms when I was fifteen and I begged them again to take me back to the doctor. At this point, I had tried pot a couple of times and cocaine once. Honestly, I just didn't like the stuff. But, my mother had caught me with joint in my pocket when she was doing some of my laundry. I mean, that's how much I didn't really like the stuff; I forgot the thing was in there."

"Life lesson learned: do your own laundry," noted House. "So, when your parents took you to the doctor, they blabbed about your partying and the doc chalked it up to an acid trip."

"Basically, yeah. I told him about the things a different doctor had said, and he said the other doctor was a quack, that what he told me was a lie."

"What did the other doctor call it?" asked Chase.

"Synesthesia," said House. "At least I'm willing to bet that's what the first doctor called it." Scotty nodded.

"That's it. What all the docs said was weird were the seizures, at least the way I have them; so intense and I start talking nonsense. Misty has told me that I keep saying a lot of colors; but I don't remember saying anything." Chase pulled out his Blackberry, pushed a few buttons and showed the video he took to Scotty.

"I don't remember any of that," Scotty said sadly as he shook his head.

"Do you have any copies of the reports or test results that were taken through the years? Or do Mummsy and Dada have them?"

"I'm sure they threw them out the way they've thrown me out. They decided I was either a drug addict or I damaged my brain with drugs I took in the past and they washed their hands of me. I was about sixteen when that all went down. I finished my last year of high school by living at a friend's house. His parents believed more than my own did. Even when I got the full scholarship to Montclair, they didn't believe me; they accused me of faking the letter. They didn't even come to my graduation ceremony; they didn't think it would be worth it." House closed his eyes as the kid's words struck a familiar chord with him; he was more determined than ever to figure out Scotty's problem.

"So over the past couple of years, the seizures have gotten more intense and more frequent," House said.

"Yeah, I have one every day, I just never know when. Lucky for me, they've never interfered with school. But I'm afraid to drive, I can't live alone mainly because I can't afford it; I live with Misty so I can afford my books. They're the only things not covered under my scholarship. I…I don't know what to do anymore; I've got some great friends who are willing to help me, but they aren't doctors." Scotty put his face into his hands.

"Good thing for you, I am a doctor," House said. "We'll keep you here as long as we can, run some tests and see what's making your acid trip go bad. The color thing is never going to go away; but this whole human jackhammer thing has got to stop before you hurt someone else's girlfriend." Scotty hung his head down at the reminder of the incident. "Dr. Chase will be on overnight; anything hits the fan, he can handle it; if he can't he'll page me and I'll ignore it until I've had enough coffee."

"Sounds great to me," Scotty said gratefully. House nodded and started to walk away; Chase caught up to him in a few feet.

"Does this sound at all legit?" Chase asked House. "I've heard of Synesthesia before, but not with seizures accompanying it. Have you?"

"Yep," said House looking grim. "Tell me…how do you feel about deep brain surgery?"


	5. Chapter 5

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Five – "Wandering the Broken Road"

By: Purpleu

"So, tell me, James," Annie said, "When was the last time you walked down the street with a woman on each arm?" Lydia was holding onto Wilson's right arm; Annie was holding his left hand.

"Ah…never," he admitted. Annie, Wilson and Lydia had stopped by Cherry Valley Deli to pick-up their food. Despite the blue hospital slipper she was wearing, Lydia had insisted on going inside; House had told her so much about the wonderful food there, she wanted to see the place for herself. Several small booths and tables lined one wall and they settled in to wait for their order; at that time of night, they didn't have to wait long. The food was cooked up quickly and after paying for it, Wilson and the ladies had left the deli and were walking down the street followed by a worker carrying the box with their order. Arriving at the car, he had the deli worker put the food box on the floor behind the driver's seat; after handing the guy a tip, Wilson opened the doors for both Lydia and Annie and made sure Lydia was comfortable as she swung her left leg up onto the back seat. When the women were settled in, he got into the car and started on the way to House's place.

"Damn!" Wilson exclaimed. "Did we leave House his keys?" While Wilson had driven his car over to the hospital, Annie had driven Lydia in House's car.

"Yes. I left them with one of the nurses. She put them into an envelope with his name on it and I texted him to let him know where they were," Lydia said.

"Good; I thought we were going to have to head back over to the hospital," Wilson said sounding relieved. "I want to be able to dive into this food as soon as possible."

"I can't wait to taste those Irish Nachos," Annie said. "French fries covered with mozzarella cheese, crumbled bacon and scallions…yum!"

"You wouldn't think after the meal we had that any of us would be hungry," said Wilson.

"It's stress," Annie said. "When I came out of Mayfield, I ate like a horse for about the first…oh two months or so. I gained over twenty pounds." Wilson smiled.

"You look perfectly fine to me." Annie shot him a look and laughed.

"That's because I lost most of it; I also started working out to try and regain some muscle tone. They did range of motion exercises with me at Mayfield, but I lost a lot of strength."

"You had enough strength to handle your cello like you had never been away from it," Lydia said with a smile. Annie shrugged.

"It's…a part of me; it's instinct. There are certain things and people in this life that bring you instant comfort," she said turning around to look at Lydia. "That list of people is rapidly expanding," Annie noted turning her attention to Wilson.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said as he smiled.

"So how long do you think Greg will be?" Annie asked. "I mean realistically speaking; he said he needed an hour with the young man, but…"

"As long as the kid doesn't have any other seizures or has his heart act up again, an hour might be pretty accurate," Wilson said. "House has that…special touch… for being able to cut through the BS and get people to tell him their medical history. Plus, he does have to wait until the results come in from the lab to see where certain things stand; well…he's going to wait until he gets results from Chase until he makes any real judgments, so he'll come home to wait for that." Wilson shook his head. "More and more problems are rearing their ugly heads as time goes on; and I hate to say it, but most of them are things that Cuddy should have dealt with instead of sweeping them under the rug or robbing Peter to pay Paul." He let out a sigh. "Even with House's name and reputation being a part of this hospital, I don't know if it's not going to come down to making him cut someone from his department; all departments may have to do it."

"Oh, my God, Greg will flip out. There is no way he will let that happen," Lydia said. "He'll threaten to close down the department and take the staff with him to another hospital."

"He's already done that; the thing is, with all the tests Diagnostics needs to run, it's an expensive operation to keep going. I have to admit, after what just happened with Hunter, House has gotten his name in the news in a very positive light; it'll help for a while to keep the wolves at bay."

"Well, the publicity from that whole nonsense with Hunter has got to be something that he's pleased with," Annie said.

"Not necessarily," said Lydia. "Greg is reluctant to accept praise because he wasn't used to it growing up; that's why he's so reluctant to offer praise to his team. He wouldn't have any one of those doctors working for him if he didn't feel that they were the best at what they do; yet his attitude is, the fact that I let you continue to work for me, should be proof enough of how good you are."

"Wow, I would think those would be really hard conditions to work under; I'd be afraid of being fired at the drop of a hat."

"He's fired people many a time, and then takes them back," Wilson said. "I think he's fired Chase and Thirteen at least five or six times each." Annie shook her head.

"What makes him like that? What drives him that the medical cases are so important…that he can ignore the people in his life?" she asked. "I know you told me his father was abusive toward him, but..."

"I never told you the extent of the abuse, Annie. You have no idea what that man went through." Wilson looked in the rear view mirror at Lydia.

"What has he told you that he hasn't told me? How bad are we talking? I…I hesitate to ask, but…was he sexually abused?" Wilson voice seemed to catch in his throat a little; Annie heard it and reached over for his hand.

"No, thank God, not that; but still…you don't treat a child the way he was treated. Please don't say anything, but I really want you," Lydia said addressing Annie, "To try and understand Greg." She paused as she drew in a deep breath. "I don't know which was worse: the physical abuse or the psychological. If his father thought he did something wrong, whether he did or not, he would do things like draw a bath of ice cold water and make him lay in it until he was turning blue. One time, in the winter, he did that to him fully clothed, and then forced him to sleep outside in the freezing cold; the clothing was freezing onto his body. He had to take it off just to prevent it from sticking to him. He almost lost several toes from frostbite."

"Where the hell was his mother while this was going on?" Annie demanded.

"Standing by, watching it; the few times she tried to intervene, the father would scream at her that he was trying to toughen him up, make a man out of him. Greg says she hated John House as much as he did." Lydia shook her head. "That was why he had such difficulty in forming his relationships with women; what he saw happen between his mother and father was the example he had of a relationship between a man and a woman. He may have seen other couples act differently as he got older, but cold indifference toward each other was all he ever saw at home."

"Wasn't there any adult he could go to for help?"

"They were all military personnel, likely to spill the beans to his father and therefore incur more of his wrath; I asked him the same question," Wilson said. "I know he had a grandmother…"

"She was no help; she was just as abusive," Lydia said bitterly. "One time, Greg was playing with a ball in his grandmother's house, which he was told not to do. The ball bounced into the kitchen, and knocked a box of rice out of the grandmother's hands. She became so enraged, she poured the rest of the box on the floor, made Greg take off his pants and forced him to kneel, bare-legged on the rice grains for hours, up straight, with a ridged back. If she caught him trying to shift his weight, or relax his stance, she'd smack him across his back with her cane. He wound up staying like that for four hours; he was an eight year-old child," Lydia said, emotion creeping into her voice. "How do you do that to anyone, never mind an eight year old? Then she refused to feed him until he picked each grain of rice up by hand and put it in the garbage; he got so desperately hungry, he started to put the rice in his mouth and let it soften so he could swallow it. Is it any wonder he changed his name?"

"What?" Wilson asked. "Wait…he…" Lydia looked at him in the mirror; she could see that he was very surprised.

"Greg was born Gregory John House; he legally dropped 'John' a number of years ago, I think before you two even met," she said to Wilson. "Which is why you wouldn't know he did that."

"I had no idea about a lot of things, obviously," Wilson said. "I knew about the ice bath thing, but not that he almost lost some toes. I knew the grandmother was no prize; he said she would often throw him out and make him sleep outside in cold weather; and he was a young kid when that first happened. I never knew he had legally dropped his father's name."

"Did you know his father refused to go to Greg's graduation from med school, from college and from high school?"

"Why did he do that?" Annie asked. Lydia shrugged.

"Why bother? Greg wasn't going to amount to anything; he wasn't following his father's footsteps into the military. What good could possibly come of him?"

"I didn't know that either," Wilson said quietly.

"Wait a minute; you told me that this guy wasn't even Greg's biological father and Greg knew that; why didn't he just tell him to go to hell once he became an adult?" Annie asked.

"Out of some amount of respect for his mother; although why he thought she deserved any since she stood by and watched all of this happen to Greg, I don't know." Lydia sighed. "He held out hope that once his dad saw how successful he was, he would treat him differently. His parents came very few times to see him at the hospital and when they did, to his father, it was just a name and title on a door. Now add on what happened with his leg; how he trusted Stacy and Cuddy to follow his wishes, to show respect for his judgment, and when they didn't, he wound up crippled and in horrific pain." Lydia shook her head. "All of that, and so much more that I could tell you, has made Greg the way he is today. But I know that buried under all that anger and resentment is a good, loving, decent man; the man I fell in love with. He's not perfect by any means; but he makes me happier than I could have ever imagined." Lydia leaned forward and put her hand on Annie's shoulder. "Do you know, Greg told me, that even if I wasn't your best friend, that he would have tried to help you anyway back at Mayfield?" Annie looked confused.

"But…but why?"

"He found your case interesting," Lydia admitted. Annie rolled her eyes. "But he also said you looked like you needed someone to help you; that seeing you sit there without any assistance from Nolan or anyone else made him pissed. You just looked like you deserved better, kinder treatment than what you were getting."

"He didn't know me from a hole in the wall, what…"

"You were a lone, solitary figure with no one coming to your rescue; and he knew what that felt like. He also knows how important it is to feel that you have a friend." Annie looked over her shoulder at Lydia and then to her left to look at Wilson. He looked like he was trying not to cry.

"You're right; he is an amazing man," Annie said. "Much more than I had realized."

"And here I sit, being his best friend for twenty some odd years and I didn't know…half of these things about House. You," he said indicating Lydia, "spent a few hours a day with him for three months, have over a year break and then spend the past week with him, and you know more than I do." Wilson shook his head. "Boy, do I feel like a putz."

"First of all, it was a very intense week; we did a lot of talking," Lydia said. "Secondly, it's simply a matter of mathematics; my chest is bigger than yours." Wilson looked over his shoulder at Lydia in stunned amazement as Annie dissolved into peals of laughter. "Not only that, but I have…"

"Alright! Alright!" Wilson said cutting her off. "I get the idea." He shook his head in disbelief. "You have been hanging around with that man too much, young lady; you're beginning to sound like him."

"She's always sounded like this," Annie said trying to control her laughter.

"No wonder you and House get along so well," Wilson said as he pulled up at the traffic light where he would make the right onto House's street. Since there was a sign that said "No Turn on Red," Wilson waited patiently for the light to change. Suddenly, the car behind him started beeping; Wilson glared into the rear view mirror. Then the driver started laying on the horn and flashing his brights at him. "What is the problem?" Wilson put down the window. "Hey, jerk; can't you see it's a red light?" he yelled while keeping his eyes on the traffic signal; he couldn't wait for it to change so he could get away from this guy.

"Oh no; James, he's backing up and it looks like he's going to pull up next to you," Lydia said. Wilson got nervous.

"OK, look straight ahead, don't make eye contact."

"James, just turn down Greg's block and get away from him," Annie said looking at her cell phone.

"It's no turn on red," he said. Suddenly, the car pulled up next to them; Wilson had put the window back up and refused to look anywhere but straight down the block.

"Hey," yelled a familiar voice that could be heard through the closed window. "Do you know you drive like a little old lady?" Wilson lowered the window as he looked to his left; there with a smirk on his face was House. Lydia and Annie were hysterically laughing.

"You two knew it was him, didn't you?" All the two women could do was nod their heads. Wilson turned his attention back to House. "Well I may drive like a little old lady, but at least I don't walk like one."

"I can't do anything about the way I walk; but you could do plenty about the way you drive," House retorted. "See ya!" The light had turned green and House made the right turn onto his block in front of Wilson.

"I swear, he's insane," said Wilson.

"Which is why I love him and you're his best friend," Lydia said still laughing.

House looked in his rear view mirror and saw Wilson make the turn onto Baker Street. He had a smile on his face; despite the crazy evening he had, getting the best of Wilson always gave him a certain sense of satisfaction. And having someone like Lydia to share the joke with made it even better. House looked over the parking situation; his usual handicapped spot was available in front of his door. The next closest spot was three car lengths behind his spot. He pulled up a little and then backed into the farther spot.

"What the hell is he doing?" Wilson asked. He moved next to House.

"Your spot is open; why are you back here?"

"Take this," House said handing over a handicapped tag to be hung from the rear view mirror to Annie.

"What are you still doing with this? You've had handicapped plates for years," Wilson noted.

"They wanted me to return it, but somehow, I just couldn't find it at the time. It's amazing how these things turn up just when you need them. Go park in my spot so Lydia doesn't have to walk as far." Wilson smiled at House's thoughtfulness and pulled up to park in front of House's door; by the time he maneuvered into the spot, House had made it up the street to the car. He got there just as Lydia opened the door.

"Here, give me your hand," House said to Lydia as she swung her feet out and stood up. "I'll help you walk to the door."

"Isn't that like the blind leading the blind?" she asked with a smile.

"Only if I was wearing dark glasses and the cane was white," House said wryly. He did a double take as he looked at her. "You look like you've been crying."

"We were laughing so hard at what you did to James, that I had tears coming down my cheeks; Annie and I both did." House smiled and pulled her in for a hug with his head facing away from Annie.

"Is she still pissed at me?" he whispered.

"No; everything's fine," she whispered in return as she moved her head past House's ear. Lydia winced as a shot of pain hit her leg.

"Let's get you inside; you look like that thing is really giving you grief," House said.

"It's starting to hurt more than just a little; it's throbbing actually." House saw that Wilson had the box with the food in it, so he handed his keys to Annie.

"Round silver one is the front door; gold one next to it is my apartment door. Since you're the only one not holding on to anything important…"

"On the contrary," Annie said as she headed toward the door. "I've got a pair of shoes that need rescuing." She held up a patient's belongings bag that contained Lydia's bloodied shoes.

"What I want to know is how you two knew it was House behind us?" Wilson asked.

"I texted them when I was about a block behind you," House said taking care that Lydia got inside safely.

"You know, it's against the law to be texting while driving," noted Wilson.

"First of all, Mr. Boy Scout, I was stopped at the red light a block back when I did it; secondly, you're Jewish and I'll bet you can't wait to dive into those pork laden spuds as much as the rest of us. And you won't even feel guilty about it."

"You know me too well," Wilson said.

"Works both ways," House replied as he walked past Annie and led Lydia over to the couch. Annie and Wilson exchanged looks as he stepped in to put the food down in the kitchen.

"Are you good?" House asked Lydia. He had her sit facing the piano, with both legs stretched out and the left one up on a pillow.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Could you hand me my pocketbook, please?" It was at the end of the couch near her feet. "The pills are in there."

"I assume you haven't taken one yet," House said. Lydia shook her head.

"The last time I had one of these, was when I had my wisdom teeth pulled back when I was in college. I remember how I reacted to them then; I wasn't about to take one on an empty stomach."

"After I got out of Mayfield, I had to have two of my wisdom teeth pulled," Annie called out from the kitchen as she unpacked the food. "They should have been done years ago. When it was over, they gave me Vicodin. Boy did that knock me for a loop."

"Wimp," House said as he passed her to get to the fridge. "Hey, you know I still have my wisdom teeth; I don't need them anymore. I'm smart enough," House said looking at Wilson.

"Smart-assed, you mean." House ignored the comment.

"Fraulein…iced tea?" he called out.

"Yes, hon; thanks," Lydia replied. "Oh, Greg? The placemats are in the second drawer down to the right of the sink."

"Got 'em." House turned and found himself face to face with Wilson, who had an amused look on his face and was trying not to laugh.

"Placemats? _You_ own placemats?" Wilson asked as he followed House into the living room with three bottles of beer.

"They're mismatched ones I had," Lydia said. "Greg has such a beautiful coffee table, that I didn't want to see it getting ruined by moisture rings or knife marks." Annie came in behind the guys carrying two of the sandwiches she had put on plates. Wilson was unaware of her standing there as his amusement was not easily abated.

"Placemats," Wilson repeated. House could sense it was time to get mean.

"Yes, placemats; keep this up, Martha and I'll tell the ladies about the apron you own. And you actually picked it out for yourself." Wilson became flustered.

"Don't you…I bought that…as a joke. I never use the damn thing."

"What do you mean? You wore it the last time I came over and we made pizza together." House looked at Annie. "It says 'Kiss the Cook' with an arrow pointing down to his crotch."

"Well at least I didn't get any tomato sauce on myself; you had to throw your shirt away…"

"Guys!" Annie said interrupting, "She has a pill to take and I'm starving; put the placemats down on the table, please." House and Wilson continued to glare at each other as House put the mats down. Annie shook her head as she looked at Lydia.

"They're worse than an old married couple."

"I know," Lydia said with a smile. Annie put the plates with the sandwiches on the coffee table and returned to the kitchen to grab the other two. House put Lydia's iced tea near her at the end of the table.

"And I suppose you're going to tell me that you two," Wilson said indicating Annie and Lydia, "Never sound like this."

"No," they said simultaneously.

"You'll never get them to admit it, but I think they're as 'married' as we are," House said as he took the plates from Annie. Wilson went into the kitchen and came out carrying the Irish Nachos and onion rings, along with a pile of napkins.

"Do you want to sit on the floor?" Annie asked Wilson.

"Sure, why not?"

"Take this," Lydia said handing Annie a throw from the back of the couch. "It'll be more comfortable than just the bare floor."

"And make the cripple stand," House said sounding hurt. Lydia made a face.

"Here," she said moving forward on the couch, "We can sit the way we did the other night." She looked up at House over her shoulder, with a little smile and a twinkle in her eyes. The memory of sitting on the couch that night, talking about her grandmother's rocker and many other things, brought a smile to his face, too. Having taken off his jacket when they first came in, he now kicked off his shoes and sat down. He swung his left leg over Lydia's head and placed it on the couch; he then put his right leg next to hers, just as they had been a few nights before.

"See, sharing can be sexy," Lydia said playfully.

"And kinky," House said.

"Well, here's to surviving the evening," she said holding up her iced tea, "Scars and all." The other three each grabbed a beer that Wilson had opened and hoisted them aloft.

"Prost!" House and Annie said at the same time. Lydia saw that Wilson looked confused.

"'Prost' is 'cheers' in German," she explained.

"Ah…OK…Prost!" he said with a laugh. "I guess I'm going to have to start learning some foreign languages, if only in self-defense. You started talking in Italian tonight," Wilson said to Annie, "And you obviously know German, too." He looked at House. "I'm not going to even try to catch up to you."

"Smart man. Now if I could learn to make myself understood in 'jackass,' I'd be all set to deal with this case," House said with a pained look on his face.

"Why, did the kid give you a problem?" Wilson asked.

"No, but I think his family, his parents in particular are going to be a pain in my keester."

"What happened when you went over to the patient? Was he saying anything that made sense?" Lydia asked as she took the plate with her sandwich on it from House; he had loaded it up with some Irish Nachos and onion rings and she dove into the food.

"The kid makes perfect sense, the parents and uncle don't; I trust the kid, but just so I have hard copy proof right in front of me, I'm going to have a few things checked out. Starting with getting his medical records from his prior M.D.'s since his parents most likely threw them out when they threw him out."

"Why did they throw him out?" Annie asked. House filled them in on Scotty's background, from his older brother's situation, through his own and his mother and father's reactions to it all.

"So because one child does something wrong, you assume that the other one does it, too?" questioned Lydia. "I understand after losing one child you might be…protective of the other; but by pushing him away, it sounds like they were being protective of themselves. It's as if they are saying, if my other child isn't perfect, then I don't want to acknowledge them; then I can't get hurt again."

"What did they find in his pocket? One joint?" Wilson asked. "And from that they conclude that their son is an unredeemable drug addict? Something is way off here. I mean, who, when they were back in college, didn't try pot?" He looked at House and Lydia and then at Annie; she was smiling and pointing her finger at Lydia. House caught sight of the action and started to chuckle.

"Oh snap; something else to corrupt her with," he said. Lydia quickly turned around to look at him.

"It was bad enough I caught you smoking cigarettes at Mayfield," Lydia said with her arms folded; House could tell from the way that she crossed her arms that she was busting his chops.

"I know, I know; your ex smoked and when you smelled it on me, it reminded you of him." House nuzzled her neck and gave her ear a kiss. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.

"Greg!" she admonished as she pulled away; his actions sent chills up and down her spine.

"Lydia!" he replied. "You've eaten enough that you can take your pill; c'mon, let's get that into you so you can sleep."

"I really haven't eaten that much, yet." Despite her protest, Lydia reached for her pocketbook and took out the bottle of pills.

"I will hand feed you myself," House said after swallowing a bite of his food. Lydia nodded, took the pill and handed House her glass to put on the table.

"So do you have any idea what…what's the kid's name? Scotty…has?" Wilson asked.

"Yep. Synesthesia, a neurological disorder of the brain. Words, letters, sounds, even music appear as colors; it's the way the brain interprets the stimulation it receives. Many doctors dismiss the legitimacy of the condition because it has received the bad rap of being called similar to an acid trip; since the problem first appears in young people, most docs take the easy way out and assume the patient is a user." Wilson looked pleased.

"Great…you know what it is, so you can treat it and release him in a few days." Lydia had just taken a French fry that House had offered her, but held up her hand to indicate she had something she wanted to say.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," she said to House, "But the seizures are unusual with that condition, aren't they?"

"DING-DING-DING! We have winner," House said smiling. He loved it when Lydia used the medical knowledge she had. "They are very unusual; less than three percent of all cases are diagnosed with the seizures. That's why doctors fall back on the easy diagnosis of the patient being a junkie. In this kid's case, it seems mom and dad got a hold of the great and all-powerful docs beforehand and told them what the diagnosis should be, since they already figured out that they're son was a strung out drug whore."

"There's a specific type of epilepsy associated with Synesthesia, I believe; wouldn't that have shown up on any EEG's that the other doctors did?" Lydia asked before taking a bite of her sandwich from House.

"You're assuming that the other doctors did EEG's; even if they did, were they read correctly? That's why I want copies of all previous medical records; I want to see what they saw and find out how badly they screwed this guy over with their misdiagnosis. What kind of sandwich did you get?" he asked as he took a look at it before returning it to the plate.

"Turkey and ham with melted Swiss on a Rye roll; it's delicious."

"Looks good," he said. Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Take a bite." House smiled as he did just that.

"Umm…I don't mean to be rude, but can we get back to the patient?" Wilson asked. "You can just treat and release him, right?"

"Not sure just yet. We're going to need an EEG to see where the seizures are originating from."

"The blood and urine you took from the patient earlier, how will that tell you about his nerves?" Annie asked.

"In something like this, it's more to determine the general health of the patient. For instance, for various reasons, Greg is questioning the young man's kidney function; since the kidneys clean toxins from the body, if they aren't working right, then things like muscles and nerves can become affected. Now, in this case, Synesthesia and related conditions like seizures shouldn't be affected by a low kidney function; but at least you'll have a starting baseline to compare all future lab results to," Lydia concluded.

"That," Annie said pointing to Lydia, "That is why I passed Biology in high school." She turned to Wilson. "If she hadn't tutored me, I'd still be trying to pass the damn course." Wilson smiled.

"Sounds like a medical professional speaking, if you ask me," he said.

Lydia shook her head and turned to say something to House; she saw that he was leaning back with his elbow resting on the arm of the couch and his head cupped in his upturned hand.

"If you're trying to make me fall any more in love with you, you're succeeding quite nicely," he said.

"What…"

"On a very simplistic level, you just used the same thought process I look for my team to use; notice, I said simplistic," House began, "But if you had to take it deeper and take that process up a couple of notches, you are more than capable of doing it. You love medicine; you need to get back into it starting with getting those nine credits you need to finish your bachelor's degree. All I have to do is figure out what kind of firecracker to light under that cute tush of yours to get you started and do it."

"I…I can't," Lydia said.

"Yes, you can and you deserve it," Annie said. "You gave up so much when your parents were in the car accident; you gave up even more to take care of me. You could have gone back to school and just come to see me on the weekends or when you had time. I wouldn't have known the difference. It drives me crazy when I think of how much you lost; it's time for you to take some of it back." Lydia looked at Annie with gratitude for her concern.

"But if I hadn't come to see you as often as I did, I wouldn't have met Greg and fallen in love with him." Lydia leaned back against House and snuggled into him. "That would have been the worst loss of all." He reached over and stroked Lydia's head; he kissed her on the forehead until she turned her face up to him and he could give her a proper kiss.

"I'm not trying to push you or manipulateyou; I'm just trying to make you happy. I know how much medicine means to you and I also know what it feels like not to have any support behind you to go after what you want. You need time to get yourself and your kids settled in here; I get that. Start looking in to some of the programs colleges around here have for doing some things on line; use the hospital as resource for research or clinical hours," House said as he looked at Wilson. "Given the screwed up financial state of things over there, I'm sure they wouldn't mind some free help." Wilson nodded as he considered the idea.

"Lydia, the thing is: you've got three people here willing to help you do this; plus the friends we had before we moved to Arizona and then new friends you'll be making," Annie said. "You'll have help. Heck, I bet even Greg's team would be willing to help out; I can tell from talking to them last night that they all kinda like you."

"That's because they think she's softened me up into a cute little Furbie or something," noted House with disdain.

"She has," Wilson said.

"Shhshh! Don't tell him; it'll ruin everything," Lydia said in a stage whisper.

"They'll find out soon enough I haven't changed; when the commander-in-grief over here sends out orders for increased clinic hours, they'll find out that the trickledown theory really works." Lydia looked at House.

"So that's why you want me to do clinic hours there; so I can take over yours."

"No, my team has already taken over mine a long time ago; it's one of the requirements to work for me. You could take what I would be losing with Foreman sitting on his ass behind a desk, sharing a bigger office than they really need and perks like leather couches that must have cost and arm and a leg."

"You make your team do time working in the clinic that you're supposed to be doing?" Annie asked.

"I don't know why he does it; you get to meet some very interesting people working in the clinic," Wilson said.

"Oh, yeah, let's see there was the woman who used her inhaler like a perfume atomizer, the mother who brought her five year old daughter in because she kept going into a trance when she was in her car seat; turns out the kid was masturbating. And then there was the oversexed senior citizen who had the hots for me and kept coming in with 'problems,' just so she could see me."

"What?" Lydia and Annie asked almost simultaneously.

"Oh, come on, House; she was cute and sweet. She wrote you a poem," Wilson said. "You thought she was cute, too."

"In a creepy way," House said as he made a face. He looked over at Wilson. "You're serious about this whole by the book thing, aren't you? You're going to bow down to a bunch of rich bureaucrats and doctors who forgot that their goal was supposed to be to help people and instead, make everything into an issue of dollars and cents."

"House, a department like Diagnostics, which takes a load of money to run, can't keep going the way it has with repetitive testing and such. Your name and reputation brings in lots of money; but with rising costs, it's going to be impossible to keep…the whole hospital going," Wilson said in frustration running his hand through his hair. "Foreman and I were handed a boondoggle and I don't know that even the two of us together can figure out how to undo the mess. This sort of stuff is not what I became a doctor for; I rather be upstairs helping people make it through the process of dying comfortably than doing this. How sick is that?"

"Very," House said. Wilson ignored him.

"I want to be able to be your sounding board like I always have been and stand there and learn things from you as I listen to you pick apart a case; but if you want to do something crazy, I have to play deaf, dumb and blind just to let you be able to help someone like this kid, who needs more than just a regular doctor. He needs a brilliant mind like yours."

"Maybe you should have thought about how you weren't going to be able to play in the little kids' sandbox anymore; not once you had a bigger shovel than everyone else."

"I didn't have time to think!" Wilson said almost yelling. "They came to us in the morning and discussed the position; the board said they needed a decision by the next morning. If we said no, they were going to the head of Orthopedics, Broward, and one of guys from Legal. So as we were trying to figure out whether to take this on or not, the doctors who were overseeing Cuddy's care come to us and tell us that they don't think that she will ever recover, that she's going to be…lost…for the rest of her life. Then my beeper goes off; you had taken a turn for the worse." Wilson looked down. "That's when I made the decision to put you into the barb coma. I…it was one of the hardest decisions…harder than Amber. I knew she was… going to leave me; I knew whether you lived or died depended on me making the right choice." Annie could see how emotional Wilson was getting, so she went over to him and put her arms around him; he put his head down on her shoulder for a minute, then continued. "I knew what I had to do; I put you under. Then Foreman and I looked at each other and said, you know, if House was standing here right now, he'd say, 'Take the job, you idiots; don't let that moron Broward run anything. He can't even run his own department.'" Annie and Lydia both had to laugh at Wilson's attempt to imitate House.

"And once again, I would be right," House said with satisfaction. "That jerk can't even remember why I walk with a cane; he keeps urging me to get a hip replacement." Now Wilson managed to laugh. House avoided looking at Wilson as he spoke. "I had no idea about the circumstances under which you took the position; I do know that you don't have to morph into Cuddy in order to do the job right. I didn't tell her most things that I did, which allowed her plausible deniability; it also prevented her from truly understanding how I work. You have the advantage of getting behind the scenes low downs for years; between that and having Foreman as your co-conspirator in this thing, you'll already know why I'm doing the things I do. You'll have plenty of time to make up excuses; an advantage Cuddy didn't have. As far as a sounding board," House looked at Lydia. "I think I know someone with a pretty good medical mind that I can roll things off of if I have to." Lydia was startled.

"Greg, I can't possibly help you the way James can; I'm not a doctor."

"No, but you think like one." Lydia shook her head.

"I can't take his place with you."

"Of course not, your chest is bigger than his," House said. Wilson almost spit out his beer and Annie nearly choked on an onion ring at House's words. Lydia put her face into her hands.

"I told you…you have been spending too much time with him," Wilson said as the three of them recalled the earlier conversation in the car. House looked between them to try and get a clue as to what was so funny.

"Anyone want to fill me in?" he asked.

"I'll tell you later," Lydia said with a smile. House's unintended joke had helped to lighten the atmosphere; they spent the rest of their time together enjoying the food and talking about Annie's concert Thursday night and Lydia's kids arriving on Friday. While House still seemed more than a little unsure about meeting them, Lydia thought she detected a slightly better attitude than he had last week; he was either accepting the situation or resigning himself to it.

"Oh no; it's after one-thirty," Annie said looking at her watch. "And you two have to be at the hospital early," she said to House and Wilson.

"No, I texted Foreman and told him I might be a bit late tomorrow; I briefly filled him in on what happened tonight," said Wilson. House nodded.

"Chase was going to text him and the rest of the team and give them the heads up on the kid." House's cell phone started to play "Down Under" by Men at Work. "Speak of the Tasmanian Devil." House hit a button on his phone. "Tell me all is quiet on the spazzing front."

"The kid is sleeping quietly right now; we moved him up to ICU about an hour ago," Chase said. "Got some results from the lab, I'm running mine now; the tox screen is clear, creatinine is slightly elevated, as are the cardiac enzymes."

"After what he went through, I'm surprised he's not off the charts. Schedule him for an EEG tomorrow morning after Foreman gets in; before you do the test, have him sign the release forms for his medical records and have someone fax them out. I want to see them ASAP. I probably won't be in until the early afternoon; I have some things here I need to take care of." Lydia gave House a curious look as she stood from the couch.

"Right. Talk to you tomorrow." Both House and Chase ended the call.

"Why aren't you going in earlier?" Lydia asked.

"Because I want to be here when you deal with that phone call from your ex; no matter what he says, I know you're going to be upset."

"Greg, that young man…"

"Is in the very capable hands of my team. If they need me, they'll call." House saw that Lydia was starting to sway as she stood by the couch. "I think it's time for you to get in bed before Wilson has to carry you again; he looks too tired to handle it right now."

"I'm fine; it's just been a long night." Wilson rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times.

"I agree; I'm going to bed. Goodnight, James," Lydia said giving him a hug.

"'Night; take it easy, at least for tomorrow," Wilson said. Lydia nodded.

"'Night, sweetie," she said as she hugged Annie. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Annie said as she held Lydia's hand. Turning to head for the bedroom, she paused as she walked past House He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a gentle kiss.

"See you in there." Lydia nodded as she walked gingerly down the hall. Annie stacked up the four plates in one hand and the foil trays that were holding the fries and onion rings with the other.

"I'll get rid of these," she said heading into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Wilson called after her. He and House found each other standing face to face; House looked away after a moment.

"By the way, thanks," he said.

"For what?"

"Making the right decision." Wilson smiled as House looked back at him.

"I think that worked out well for the both of us." House nodded as Annie walked back into the room. She started to pick up the beer bottles when Wilson jumped in to help. House smiled; he watched them laughing as they rinsed them out and it made him feel good.

"I think everything is all done here," Annie said as she picked up her pocketbook. "Greg, thank you for…a very adventurous evening to say the least."

"If life didn't have adventures, it'd be boring as hell."

"I could do with a few less in my life," she said.

"Know where you're coming from," House said. They stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Friends?" Annie asked extending her hand. House took it and gave her a hug.

"We both have the same goal in mind; just different methods of getting there," he said. Annie smiled and gave House a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Greg."

"'Night."

"'Night, House; talk to you tomorrow." Wilson placed his hand on House's shoulder as he walked by.

"Goodnight." House closed and locked the door behind them. He walked to the kitchen to get a bottle of water for Lydia; he didn't want her trying to get up and moving in the dark. As he passed the couch, he grabbed one of the pillows that Lydia had her leg up on; he thought she could use it in bed.

"Hey, Fraulein," he said as he entered the bedroom; he quickly stopped himself. Lydia was on her right side, her left leg on top of her right, her knees slightly bent and her eyes were closed; he smiled at the sight. She had changed into her pj's, so House guessed she was in bed for the night. He went around to her side of the bed and gently lifted her leg slightly so he could put the pillow between her legs at her ankles. She squirmed and made a small whimpering sound, but nothing more than that. He put the bottle of water on her night stand, pulled up the covers and went around to his side of the bed to get changed. As he removed his clothes and put on pj bottoms, he kept turning to look at Lydia. Yes, he said to himself as he rolled onto his left side to face her, he was very, very glad Wilson had made the right decision.

"Gute Nacht meine Liebe," he said quietly as he gently kissed her cheek, then closed his eyes to get some sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Six– "Danger Around the Bend"

By: Purpleu

Wilson rolled over to his left and smiled; he found that the smell of freshly brewing coffee was the perfect alarm clock. Except he didn't remember setting the machine to come on this morning. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to get them and his mind to co-ordinate; he looked at the sheet that was covering his body. Flowers were definitely not on any set that he owned. Wilson quickly sat up and looked around him; this was clearly not his bedroom. After surveying the room, however, and spying the glass that was lying on the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed from him, it all clicked in.

Wilson stretched as he sat on the edge of the bed; after giving himself a minute to wake up more thoroughly, he eventually made his way out into the living/dining room. Wilson looked at the pass through between the kitchen and dining area of the room and saw Annie. He smiled as he heard her humming softly to herself as she fiddled with things in the kitchen.

"Ahem," Wilson said. "Good morning." Annie spun around quickly and her face broke into a huge smile when she saw Wilson.

"Good morning, James," she said coming into the living room. Annie moved right over to Wilson and gave him a long, loving kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and returned her gesture.

"How are you doing?" Wilson asked as he brushed away a strand of hair away from her face.

"I'm…wonderful," Annie said laughing as she fell into Wilson's arms. "I thought we were just going to fall asleep snuggling, and then the longer you held me, it just felt right to be together and…well…score one for another step toward rejoining the living!" Wilson laughed at the way she phrased their night together.

"Honestly, I had every intention of just sleeping in my suit on the couch; then I remembered that I left the laundry I picked up yesterday in the trunk of my car, so at least I had a tee shirt and a pair of shorts I could switch into. You seemed OK with it when I asked if you minded me changing…"

"I don't know why you even asked me that; what did you think I was going to say? No, sleep in dress pants and a dress shirt all night?"

"Well, I didn't…want you to think I was becoming too familiar, too quickly," Wilson said as he moved to the couch with Annie to sit down. "I was trying to be respectful of your feelings." Annie looked at him in wonderment.

"You are so sweet," she said taking his hand in hers. "So many other guys wouldn't have cared; they would have just…" Annie put her head down, not able to finish her thought.

"After what you've been through, no one should even think about pushing you…about anything. You need time to ease back into your life, to society in general; when I think about all the things that have happened in the ten years you were out of contact with the world, I realize you have a lot to get used to, a lot of world events to catch up on." Wilson thought for a moment. "The attacks of September eleventh hadn't happened yet, had they?"

"No, last I knew, the World Trade Center was still there and you didn't have to take off your shoes to get on an airplane; then when I started to become aware of things, but still couldn't talk, I heard Lydia and Greg talking about Freedom Master, one of my fellow patients who lost his wife in the attacks. And as I listened to what they said, and I became aware of what happened that day, I was horrified. Steve, aka Freedom Master, he worked in the first tower that was hit, but he got out OK; his wife worked in the second one, which was the first to collapse; he tried to get to her, but they wouldn't let him in the building, of course." Annie shook her head. "He had to stand there and watch the tower go down, knowing his wife was in there; they never did find any of her remains. The fact that he had to just watch events unfold, that he was helpless to save her…that was the source of his mental problems that brought him to Mayfield. Freedom Master was this persona he invented, someone who could save everyone and do good. It was his coping mechanism."

"Isn't Freedom Master the one who helped House get you out of the catatonic state?" Wilson asked. Annie smiled at the memory.

"Steve remembered what Lydia told him about the music box being my 'voice'. He was at least able to convey to Greg that I wanted the music box; I ached to have my music back because my music is the best way I have to express things. Lydia had told me enough times that my attackers were dead; I understood that I didn't have to fear them anymore," Annie said, her voice becoming more intense and more emotional as she spoke. Wilson put his arm around her as she continued. "But I couldn't pull myself out of it, not without having my music to lean on. I was lost," she said with tears in her eyes. "Then Greg got them to give Steve the music box; that was some struggle. I remember being aware of them dragging Greg away yelling at them and physically fighting with them. After he did get the box, though, and he pushed Steve's wheelchair over to me…Steve handed me the music box…I opened it…and something in me went 'POP!' And I was back." Wilson smiled and ran his hand down her face, loving the sheer joy he saw on it.

"Is that when Lydia brought you your cello?"

"No, it was already there; she had brought it when they announced they were going to have a talent show and she was hoping I would miraculously recover in time to play. I didn't, but after I was given the music box and started speaking, Greg went over to the corner and brought it to me. He said, 'Here, I think you'll like playing with this even more than that box' and he showed me the case. I know this is going to sound stupid, but I cried when I saw it. Greg helped me take out and get it set up by playing some notes on the piano so I could re-tune it; and I was back playing it like I had never been away," Annie said with a smile. "You know, I don't who was more excited to see me awake and playing again; me or Greg."

"Well, I guess he was happy because he knew he'd be scoring points with Lydia; she was of course going to be thrilled that you were awake again, but he was counting on her being extra pleased with him." Annie looked at Wilson disapprovingly.

"Why are you assuming Greg had an ulterior motive for what he did? I know that Lydia was going to be very grateful to Greg for what he did to help me and I'm sure he knew that, too. But didn't you hear what she said last night? That he would have helped me even if Lydia wasn't a part of the picture? Lydia's told me that you've seen Greg do a lot of…not so nice things over the years; but can't you see that your own best friend really is a good person?" Wilson closed his eyes and sighed.

"I had always hoped there was…a good guy buried under that self-centered, self-serving bastard that was the usual face he presented to the world. I must have known it was there, or we wouldn't have become friends." Hunching forward with his hands clasped together, Wilson continued. "There were times when I saw him do things that may have seemed radical, over the top and crazy, but he was doing them to save a patient's life; of course he couldn't admit that was the reason. He would claim he did it to prove he was right," he laughed as he shook his head.

"Maybe there was some truth in that; after all, he had the specter of his father doubting that he'd be good at anything hanging over him," Annie pointed out.

"True," Wilson acknowledged. "But, I've also seen him do things that were…just beyond being selfish or heartless, even; they were out and out cruel." Annie cocked her head to the side as she thought.

"It was all part of his plan to keep people at arms' length; if he didn't have any kind of relationship, that of patient/doctor or even passing acquaintance, then he could protect himself from getting hurt."

"Yeah, but how long is it going to take until he realizes that not everyone in this world is out to hurt him?" Wilson said in frustration.

"If most of the important people in your life, save one," Annie said nodding in Wilson's direction, "Stomped on your heart, mind and soul, over and over again, wouldn't it take you a while to realize that not everyone will treat you that way? That there are a precious few who truly care? For Greg, it took until meeting Lydia; and I think he's starting to slowly open up." Wilson smiled.

"What I really want to know is where she hides her wings so us mere mortals can't see them," he said. "By the way, where do hide yours? Because I had a pretty unobstructed view of things last night and I…" Wilson started looking at her back and running his hand over her torso. "Nope; I still can't find them"

"Oh, stop it," said Annie as she laughed and squirmed; Wilson's touch tickled in spots. "I haven't done anywhere near the sort of things Lydia's done. Between taking care of her parents after the accident, giving up school, taking care of me, dealing with that…brother of mine…raising two kids…I don't know how she did it."

"You forgot to mention bringing out the human being in House." Annie looked at Wilson cautiously. "I mean that in a good way."

"Well, I can see where Lydia being in love with Greg is a good thing for him, but it works both ways, you know. Greg being supportive of her is just thing she needed at this point in her life; I'm especially pleased that he's so encouraging about her trying to go back to study medicine again."

"Lydia is the perfect combination for him: she not only is beautiful and in love with him, but she's extremely intelligent and has a passion for medicine and music; you couldn't pick a better pairing." Wilson looked at Annie and quickly realized he was excluding the two of them from the category of "a better pairing." "That's not to say, of course…that people who…on the surface, at least, don't…appear to be perfect for each other…I mean who's to say…" Annie lunged toward Wilson and planted a big kiss on him; one, to get him to shut up and two….

"You are so cute when you feel awkward and nervous and fumble for words; your cheeks get all flushed and your eyes dart around. You look like a nervous teen-ager," Annie said as she shook her head and laughed. Wilson enjoyed watching her laugh, seeing her face light up; for someone who had been through the hell she had, that in and of itself was a miracle. Yet somewhere in the back of his head, he had a lingering doubt.

"House and Lydia have their shared love of music and medicine; and each has outside interests that they bring to the table. I…love music…but I don't know how to play an instrument, I don't know Beethoven from Mozart; I know I loved listening to the CD of you playing. But I'm afraid I'm going to seem like a total idiot when it comes to your greatest passion," Wilson said somewhat anixiously.

"Beethoven was deaf, Mozart wasn't," Annie began; she hoped to relax him by teasing Wilson a little. "Are you willing to sit and listen to me play at my concerts?"

"Of course."

"Are you willing to ask questions so you can learn about some of the words and phrases and the ins and outs of the music?"

"Yes, but…"

"There's no but's; I'll ask really dumb questions when it comes to medicine, oncology in particular. You'll ask a question about music like…what's the difference between a Baroque piece and a Romantic piece…?"

"The Baroque piece needs fixing and the Romantic piece has the word 'love' in the title?" Wilson offered teasing back a bit now. Annie looked at him.

"No, were it that easy; but despite our not knowing things about each other's main interest in life, I think that there's an even bigger, more important interest that we do share." Wilson looked puzzled. "Grabbing life by the throat and starting to really enjoy it. I've held back on doing so many seemingly stupid, little things because I was always 'too busy'; I have the feeling you've done the same thing, too." Wilson looked down at the floor and slowly nodded his head.

"I don't know how you've figured that out about me, but you're right. Like you said there are a bunch of little, seemingly insignificant things that aren't really a big deal, but if you did them, it would just put the biggest smile on your face," he said.

"Exactly; for instance, I have always wanted to take a ride in a hot air balloon; there's a place in Pennsylvania, about two hours away that does rides, but I never bothered to take a day and do it," Annie said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"We are…how close to Manhattan? Do you know I've never been to the Statue of Liberty? Or the top of the Empire State Building?" Wilson said.

"Me either." Annie and Wilson looked at each other and laughed. "I think," she said, "That as time goes on, we'll find there are more and more things that we have in common and can wind up sharing together. When we met outside the realty office last week, I didn't know who you were; but I knew I felt so drawn to you, that I had no qualms about asking, 'Are you James Wilson?' and hoping the answer was 'yes.' There is definitely something special between us and I think it's going to be a lot of fun finding out how it all falls into place." Wilson slid over on the couch closer to Annie took her into his arms and kissed her.

"I absolutely agree one-hundred and ten percent," Wilson said looking into Annie's eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she answered, giving him a kiss; they continued kissing for few minutes until Annie pulled back. "You know, I really hate to break this up, but I could use a cup of coffee right now," she said. Annie stood from the couch and held out her hand to Wilson.

"I think I could use one, too," Wilson admitted as he took her hand and followed her into the kitchen.

"Oh, did I also mention that I love to cook?" Annie asked. Wilson narrowed his eyes.

"You're only saying that because you want to see me in that apron," he said.

"And I believe when one is in the kitchen, they should follow directions as closely as possible," she said looking over her shoulder at Wilson as got coffee mugs out of the closet. Wilson put his head down and chuckled; he hoped that House's morning was going just as well as his…

House jumped when the sounds of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" blared out from his cell phone. He knew it could only mean one thing: his team was in the conference room and were using the speaker phone. House quickly looked to his left and saw that Lydia was still sleeping; not wanting to disturb her, he got out of bed and as quickly as he could, limped out of the bedroom and down the hall. When he felt was far enough away, he answered the phone.

"Good morning, Angels," he said using the familiar greeting from "Charlie's Angels."

"Morning, House," the team answered in slightly disjointed unison.

"Boy, you and Wilson really know how to show a girl a good time," Thirteen said with a teasing tone in her voice.

"It's a lot more interesting than Taco Bell and a movie," House replied. "How's the patient?"

"Resting," answered Chase. "He kept waking up in the middle of the night saying he felt like he was about to have a seizure, but then nothing happened. So he didn't get a good night's rest and neither did I. Our lab results were in line with the ER's by the way." House made a face.

"A sure sign of the apocalypse," he commented as he walked into the kitchen. He looked around and realized that the coffee maker had not been set up last night; House had gotten so used to Lydia prepping the machine that he forgot about it when he went to bed.

"How's Lydia?" Taub asked.

"Still in dreamville at the moment; I don't know if the codeine knocked her for that much of a loop or if she's still in recovery mode from what happened last night," House said as he measured out the coffee. "I'm hoping the pungent aroma of Juan Valdez's favorite drink will help stir her from her slumber."

"Why don't you just let her sleep in?" Thirteen asked. "She probably needs the sleep after the night she had."

"She has a conference call with that jerk of an ex-husband today," Chase reminded her.

"When your own sister can talk about you the way Annie was talking about her brother," Taub said, "You know the guy is scum."

"Yeah, Annie sure gives the impression of being feisty to say the very least," Foreman noted. House was about to make a comment concerning his little tiff with Annie last night, but he didn't want to give them any fodder for the gossip mill, however contained within the department it may be. Besides, Chase probably already filled them in.

"Well, now that we've all agreed on the moral unworthiness of my girlfriend's ex, let's get back to the colorful world of wonder our patient lives in, shall we?" House asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Synesthesia," Foreman said with a slight tone of amazement in his voice. "It's seen in about one out of every two thousand people, so it's not overly unusual that this young man has it; plus it is seen in males more than females. It also tends to run in families, but he didn't mention anyone else on either side having it."

"He did say though, the there is a history of neurological issues; everything from the ALS his brother and paternal uncle had to his maternal uncle having MS," Taub noted. "Since there seems to be tendency toward denial in the family, it's possible that the condition was there, just never spoken about."

"A likely possibility; I'm sure either an ostrich or a turtle appears on their family coat of arms," House said dryly. He heard a sound behind him and turned to see Lydia standing in the living room; she was smiling, but also biting her bottom lip. "Hold on; a beautiful, gimpy woman just entered my world. What are you doing up?" House asked Lydia. He had moved over to the doorway and saw that she wasn't putting any pressure on her leg.

"I was…ow…getting up to go…aah…" Lydia was clearly in pain with each step she took.

"I'm putting this on speaker," House said into his phone as hit a button and placed it on the counter. He helped Lydia over to the couch as quickly as he could; she whimpered the entire way. After sitting down, she swung her legs up onto the couch. "Let me take a look at it." House removed the gauze that was covering the wound, and was not happy by the sight that greeted his eyes; the area was swollen, an angry red and there was some seepage from the wound despite the stitches. He placed his hand gently on her leg; the area was burning hot to the touch. "Hey, are you sure I didn't miss anything when I cleaned this out?" he called in the direction of the kitchen.

"Why, what's the matter?" asked Chase. House described the appearance of the wound to him. "Sounds like it's gotten infected already." House rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Yeah, being a doctor I came to that conclusion already; the question is: why? Unless I missed something…" he said, mentally going over his actions from the night before.

"I don't think so; I flushed the wound thoroughly and after I closed off the artery, I got a good look at the area. It was clean." House nodded.

"It was a beer bottle that broke, correct?" asked Taub. "And it wasn't cleaned out right away. So maybe the pieces of glass had dirt or something on them that stayed in the wound long enough to contaminate the tissue; even the beer itself could be the culprit. The yeast alone is a breeding ground for bacteria under the right circumstances."

"It would probably be best if she came back in so you can take a look at it," House said. "She needs an antibiotic at the very least; maybe it needs to be opened up, drained and re-stitched."

"Greg, no; I can't go back there now. I have to be here to do the video conference call," Lydia protested. "What time is it now?" House glanced at the coffee maker.

"Eight-ten," he said as he walked backed into the kitchen and picked up his cell phone.

"Why don't you take care of your phone call and then come in; House, you weren't planning on coming in today until after the call was over and done with anyway," Foreman pointed out.

"Works for me; we can figure how to deal with the kid, you can start running the tests and I can come swooping in to save the day and tell you you're all wrong." There was dead silence. "What? That's the way it works, doesn't it?"

"Some, not all of the time," pointed out Taub.

"Most of the time," countered House.

"By the way," Thirteen said. "Good morning, Lydia; how are you feeling?" Lydia smiled.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm managing; there's still so much pain. Looking at it," she said as she surveyed the wound, "I can see why; there's so much swelling, it's pulling and separating the stitches."

"Did you take one of the pills last night? Chase asked.

"After I ate little something; I don't know if it was the pill or just everything that happened that wore me out, but I got very sleepy not long after I took it. I was planning on taking one this morning after I ate, but I can't take the chance on not being with it when I talk to my ex on a conference call later."

"The pills are scored," House said as he brought a mug of coffee into Lydia; he set it down on the table so it could cool a little. "I can easily break one in half; take one part before the call, the other part after."

"That's a good idea," Chase said. "You'll get some relief without becoming a zombie." House winced inwardly at the mention of the word "zombie;" it reminded him of one of the less than wonderful images from his time in the coma Although the phrase "zombie axe cane" did amuse him.

"I really hope everything goes OK for you today; after all the things that Annie told us, stringing your ex up by his you know whats is too good for him," Thirteen said.

"She's only saying 'you know whats' because she hasn't seen a pair of 'whats' in so long," House commented to Lydia. She ignored his razzing of Thirteen and addressed House's team.

"I heard you and Greg discussing Scotty," she said. "How is he doing?"

"So far so good," Chase said. "We were just about to discuss how to move forward with things."

"Feel free to speak openly in front of Lydia," House said as he returned to the kitchen to get his coffee. "We decided last night that she was going back to school and finishing that medical degree she never got but could probably whiz through with no problem. She is going to be doing her clinic work with us."

"Greg! _We_ haven't decided anything; you, Annie and James have this grand plan in mind for me."

"I don't mean to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong…" started Taub.

"You can't help it," said House. "You were born with it." Lydia gave him a look.

"I think," Taub continued without acknowledging House's comment. "That it would be a shame to not finish what you started. You're…nine credits short, I believe Annie said; after all the hard work you did on the other one hundred some odd credits, you deserve the right to claim your degree."

"I should have known Annie was talking to you about this. Greg and James seem to think that there is some way I can do this and work…and be a mother…and be a partner in a good relationship; I'm willing to listen, but I'm making no promises."

"Fine, now that we've got that settled, let's go over things with the future Dr. Strohman so she knows where things stand with the patient. I got a basic medical history from the kid last night. Thirteen take a complete history from him; dates, times and places included. That last part is particularly important since Taub is going to prepare a bunch of medical records release forms to be faxed to his prior M.D.'s; make sure you emphasize that we need the info ASAP. Our time with the patient is going to be limited since he lacks the one thing every person in this world should possess and that is health insurance."

"Chase told us about the parents and uncle," Thirteen said. "I can't believe after losing one child, you'd be so willing to push away the other."

"But after having three heart attacks in a couple of hours, wouldn't that be justification for keeping him? Couldn't the argument be made that releasing him would be endangering his health?" Taub asked.

"Not when the heart attacks were caused by an overdose of an illegally dispensed drug," Foreman said. House rolled his eyes as he winced.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" House asked with a slight sarcastic tone.

"Sorry, House; I let it slip when I was telling everyone about the case," Chase admitted. "I just can't believe that his girlfriend would do that to him; why not just be truthful and say you want to do it more often?"

"And if at twenty, you can't, then it's time to go to the doctor," said Taub.

"If after everything that you had been through with doctors, with the way that they treated your very real illness as imaginary or a drug trip," said Lydia, "Wouldn't you be reluctant to go to them for help? After all, a twenty year old trying to score Viagra is either abusing it or trying to sell it. As since at least one prior doctor has labeled you a drug addict…"

"True," Taub conceded. "So how far back are we going with his records? To where the Synesthesia first showed up?

"Further back, if we can," said House. "The more information, the better. Chase, you and Foreman run a…"

"House, I've got a meeting this morning at ten-thirty; I should be done by noon. After that, I had planned on reviewing a proposal presented by Medical Records for cleaning up the mess their department was left with after the debacle with Hunter. They want to create a new position while the hospital is already hurting for money; I swear, if I hear that they want to make cuts in Diagnostics or Pediatrics or Oncology one more time…" Foreman said, obviously annoyed. "My point being, I don't know how much time I'm going to have to give you with this case; it's just really poor timing."

"Says the doctor whose specialty is neurology as we venture down that oh so rocky road of neurons and synapses," House said bitterly.

"House, I'm sorry; believe it or not, I'd rather be dealing with the patient than stuck up in an ivory tower."

"Or in your case an ebony tower," House quipped. Lydia closed her eyes and shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee.

"I'll do what I can to help," Foreman said resignedly.

"I guess you want me to do the EEG and PET," Chase said.

"Yeah, greatest concentration on the temporal and parietal lobes; but don't make the occipital or frontal feel left out. That wouldn't be very nice," House said pretending to pout.

"Where are you going with this if the tests show that it's not epilepsy? I understand why you're looking for that first; it's the most obvious, it's your horses. What about your zebras?" Lydia asked.

"What else are you thinking?" Thirteen asked as House looked at Lydia curiously.

"A tumor."

"Based on what?" House asked quickly; if Lydia was going to try and play on his team, he was going to have to treat her no differently than he did any of them. Lydia realized what House was attempting to do and chose her response carefully.

"Based on the progression of the seizures; you said the patient told you that they became increasingly worse as he had gotten older. If the tumor grew in size proportionately to his body growth, it would create more pressure on the area responsible for the seizures."

"While all that is quite plausible" began Foreman, "we really don't need to consider that right now…"

"You do if you want to hold the department's costs down," Lydia replied. House was a bit taken back by what she said at first; then as he rolled the idea around in his head, he realized where Lydia was going with this and had to turn his head away so she wouldn't see him smile. "He had been taken to neurologists in the past and standard procedure would be to do an EEG on the patient," Lydia began. "If he had epilepsy, it would appear on those EEG's; if abnormal activity appeared, since those doctors' minds had been poisoned to think that the boy was doing drugs, they would have discounted it. But certain changes and spikes shown on the EEG can be consistent with the presence of a tumor."

"And the doctors would have overlooked them because of the prejudice they picked up on from the parents," Thirteen said.

"How exactly do you propose to hold the department's costs down with this information?" asked Taub.

"Instead of doing the EEG with intention of looking for epilepsy, do a full scan of the entire brain; any tumor or malformation in one area can easily influence the functioning of another," Lydia said.

"And, since this kid is presenting with different forms of Synesthesia, the possibility of a tumor would account for the differences," Foreman explained.

"What are the forms?" Chase asked.

"One effects the processing of numbers with words being secondary," House said. "Another has its base in mainly letters and words, numbers are unaffected for the most part. Yet another has its origins in auditory stimulus; so conversations and music become a Crayola crayon box. In all the different forms, the synapses between neurons are either too far apart to get the right signal through or they are too close together and short-circuit each other. And out guy has the best of all worlds."

"With so many conflicting signs being presented, the most efficient way to go about testing is to do the complete EEG, rather one part now and one part later. It will get you the overall results that you need to help the patient faster in the long run, it won't do any harm to the patient for the additional amount of time you need to subject him to the test and one slightly longer test is less expensive to process than several smaller tests." House was sitting on the couch with Lydia's legs resting across his lap; if they weren't on speaker phone, he'd pounce on her right now, bad legs for both of them or not. She handled her presentation of her medical opinion with no hesitation, her logic was perfect and she even made the penny pinching Foreman happy from what House could tell; the conference room had broken out into random conversations, all basically agreeing with and praising Lydia.

"OK, before we adjourn this meeting of The Future Dr. Lydia Strohman Fan Club," announced House loudly so as to get his team's attention. "Does everyone know what their assignments are?"

"I'm going to get the patient's complete medical history," said Thirteen.

"As Thirteen gets names and dates for prior doctors, I'll contact their offices and send out faxes requesting the patient's medical records; I'll have Scotty sign the release forms to include with the faxes and let them know we need them ASAP," Taub said.

"And my assignment will be to do complete EEG and PET scans on the kid; when any sort of prior test results come trickling in, we can compare and contrast the tests," concluded Chase.

"I'll do what I can, when I can," noted Foreman. "But…"

"Actually, there's something very important you need to do for the team, and me in particular," House said.

"What's that?" asked Foreman suspiciously.

"Keep the kid's parent and uncle away from him and me; lie if you have to, but the last thing that kid needs right now is them." Foreman let out a sigh.

"I'll do what I can, but I'm not promising anything. Oh, I do have a question for Lydia."

"Hmm?" asked Lydia as she swallowed a sip of coffee. "I'm sorry, Dr. Foreman…what did you say?"

"I just wanted to ask you a question: do you have any experience with coding?" Lydia looked startled as did House.

"You mean the International Diagnostic Codes? Yes, I do; when I was working from home after my parents' car accident, the company that employed me specialized in assisting medical offices with their billings to insurance companies. I went in once or twice a week for a few hours, picked up the patients' files, brought them home, coded them and submitted the claims to the proper insurance companies online. I then returned the file to the office until the check came in to settle the claim, and I made sure we received proper payment."

"And you knew all the diagnostic codes that you needed to bill things out?" Foreman asked.

"Well, not all of them, but most of them. The ones I didn't know off the top of my head, I knew where to look them up; I just kept my I.D.C. manual next to my computer, and I used it when necessary. Why are you asking…?"

"How would you like a job?" Lydia's mouth dropped open and her eyes bugged out; even House was surprised by Foreman's offer. He looked at Lydia in shock as all she could do was stare at House's cell phone on the coffee table.

"What exactly are you talking about?" she asked.

"The proposal that I mentioned before from Medical Records. Basically, in a little more detail, here's how it would break down: for the beginning part of it, it's going to require someone with medical knowledge, a person who would know the difference between the print out of an EKG as opposed to an EEG. The person would have to work with House, Wilson and all of us, to make sure that all patient files that have been compromised has been put back the way it should be; and the person in the position would have to verify the claims sent out to insurance companies and make sure that they were properly billed out and we received correct payments on each case. While doing all that, they would establish security procedures and an audit system for the claims so that Medical Records and Billing function above and beyond state mandates."

"Well that part is just common sense," Lydia said. "Don't hire any more bimbos." Everyone, including House got a chuckle out of Lydia's observation. "They want to give all that responsibility to a new person? Why not break it down among the people you already have working for you?"

"I would imagine it's because the morons who are already working for us allowed Hunter to get his slimy hands on things in the first place," House said; he didn't want to interfere, since this was really all about Lydia, but he did have a question. "It's not going to take that long to clean up our files; even ours and Wilson's put together. So how…"

"Right," said Foreman. "Which is why after that's done, the person would move into a position of auditing the billings going out to the insurance companies for the entire hospital, handling any questions about I.D.C.'s and the accuracy of the paperwork so we can get paid properly and have a better cash flow around here."

"And if you are off even a single digit in coding…you won't get paid. I can't tell you how many times most of my visits to the office were to pull files and look at prior claims to see why we weren't paid; it all came down to those damn codes," Lydia said shaking her head. "They would kick out a claim worth thousands of dollars over an item that was miscoded and represented twenty dollars or so of the entire claim."

"I have no idea right now what they would be paying; but I do know that as a regular, full-time employee, you'd be entitled to life insurance, a retirement plan and medical, dental and vision coverage…for you and your kids." Thirteen, Chase, Taub and Foreman all smiled at each other; they knew how important that last part was to Lydia. House was a bit in shock still, but pleased as all hell nonetheless; he could see how happy she was by the expression on her face. Lydia was so overwhelmed she couldn't even talk.

"Lydia, a lot of things have to happen before this even goes through; Wilson and I have to meet with each other and the department heads, we have to meet with the hospital board and finally the state oversight committee. Since all this came to light, we can't make a move without their approval. I do know that something has to happen quickly or they're going to force us to shut down. Offhand…I'd say you're talking about the position becoming a reality in the next six to eight weeks." Lydia thought for a moment and burst into a smile.

"That timing would be perfect," she said thinking of her kids' school schedule.

"So if everyone agrees on this, and it's given the go ahead, can Wilson and I offer your name as a candidate for the job?" Lydia looked at House questioningly, almost as if she was asking if he really thought that she could do this.

"Well, go on; don't keep dark and dusky waiting," he said. Taking a deep breath, she said,

"I would love to be considered for the position."

"Great," Foreman said. "A lot still has to happen, but it's almost as if they've got no choice but to let it happen." Lydia sat on the couch shaking her head; a job, probably with good pay and definitely with benefits for her and her children. She couldn't help the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

"Anything else? President Obama call yet to make me Surgeon General?" House asked. "No? Then this concludes this meeting of The Future Dr. Lydia Strohman Fan Club."

"See you later, Lydia," Chase said.

"Feel better," said Thirteen.

"Good luck with the conference call," added Taub.

"Bye, Lydia," Foreman simply said. House hit the button to end the call. He looked at Lydia as she held her head and let tears freely flow down her cheeks now that the conversation was over. House moved her legs so he could stand up; he replaced them on the couch with a pillow under them. He went down the hall to the bathroom and grabbed a box of tissues and some bandaging materials; gauze, tape and the like.

"Here, use some of these before you get my couch completely soaked," House said as held out the tissues. She looked at the box and then up at House; she reached up to him, her arms outstretched toward him. He smiled as he put the bandages on the table and sat down where Lydia had scrunched over so he could sit with her. He put his arms around her and gave Lydia an all-enveloping hug; she did the same to him and then pulled back so she could kiss him over and over again.

"A job!" she squealed. "I know it hasn't actually happened yet, but it's so close, I can feel it! And it's about as close to medicine as I've ever come; I've done the coding and billing before, but that was from home. I'd be working in the hospital. I am…so excited and so happy…"

"You hide it really well," House said with a smile. "Just keep in mind: this whole thing has miles of bureaucratic potholes to maneuver through."

"I know; I…I just can't believe…" House stood up and went into the kitchen.

"I'm going to throw some clothes on and head out on my bike to the local bagel shop; they also have muffins and pastries there, too. In the meantime you start ingesting one of these hippie bars you've tainted my closet with and take your pill."

"It's a granola and fruit bar and there's nothing wrong with it," Lydia said as she took it from House. "Would you cut the pill in half for me, please?" She reached into her pocketbook which was still on the floor from last night, and took out the pill bottle; she handed it to House. He opened the container, took the pill out and broke it in half with his fingers.

"Here's the other half back," he said returning it to the bottle in front of Lydia. She gave him an odd look.

"Why did you make such a big deal about putting the pill back into the bottle in front of me? You're acting like I don't trust you or something." House started to walk to the bedroom to get changed, but he continued talking as he did.

"Last night, Chase had a funny reaction when I suggested he give you Vicodin for your leg; I felt like he didn't trust me…or you didn't when you refused it."

"Greg! You know that's not true. I told you before…I know there is always a chance that you could slip; but I trust you to come to me so we could work it out together. I can't speak for what Dr. Chase was thinking."

"You don't trust me enough to tell me what this phone call is about today; and I know you have an idea," House said. Lydia sighed.

"We've talked about so much in the past week or so, but there are some things I need to explain to you that would take a while and there hasn't been time; they are very complicated and I know how you would react…at least to part of it." House re-emerged back into the living room.

"Does it concern you? Does it concern your kids?"

"Yes…"

"Then it concerns me, too, if you trust me enough to be a part of your life." House picked up his keys from the desk. "Everything bagel with cream cheese?" Lydia nodded her head, but wouldn't look at him; House felt bad he was ruining her good mood, but she had known the nature of the call since the end of last week and refused to talk to him about it. What was really bugging him, was that he couldn't figure out what the topic was. He picked up his cane and walked over to the couch.

"Be right back, Fraulein. Get that pill in you."

"I did," she answered. House leaned down and gave the top of her head a kiss. He headed for the door.

"Greg?" Lydia said as he turned the knob.

"Yeah?"

"It's about my kids and money, although not child support." House nodded; at least now he knew the general topic of discussion and why Lydia was so upset by it. Anything about her kids got her going.

"OK; well that narrows it down. A little. We can talk…"

"My grandfather did die in that accident at the factory back in Germany," Lydia said. "But he didn't just work in the factory." Lydia looked at House. "He owned it."


	7. Chapter 7

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Seven – "Stop Sign"

By: Purpleu

House took his hand off the doorknob and walked back over to the couch. Lydia was looking down at her cup of coffee; she fiddled nervously with the handle of the mug.

"I assume we're not talking about some little cottage industry with the basement of the house doubling for the 'factory,'" House said. Lydia shook her head.

"It started out small, and while it was never a mega corporate type of thing, when it was sold many years after my grandfather's death, it fetched a pretty penny." She finally looked up at House; he could see how upsetting this was for her to talk about, yet he couldn't feel completely sympathetic. Lydia had given him the distinct impression that she had very limited resources. He didn't care about being lied to; as he always said, lies are a part of human nature. It was the idea that Lydia, of all people, would mislead him that bothered him at the moment.

"So, you won't need to scrounge in the garbage to get cans and bottles to return for a nickel I guess," observed House. Lydia managed to smile at House's comment.

"No; although in my mind, that's always a possibility. It's a complicated situation; I've wanted to pull out all my financial and legal papers and show them to you so you'd know where things stood with me, but there was never time. Since I got here, we've been talking about us and our relationship and our past and then there was that thing with Hunter…"

"Take it easy and slow down," House said as he returned to the couch. Lydia was sitting up and had put her feet down on the floor; but when House sat down, he reached over and brought her legs back up onto his lap. "Keep these here," he said gently rubbing her legs, while avoiding her wound. She was right; a lot had happened in the week she had been back in his life and all the other things she named most definitely had priority. "We can go over the papers themselves another time; give me the Cliff notes version of what happened and where things stand…and tell me how much more I'm going to hate that son-of-a-bitch ex of yours."

"Well, if you want a chance at ripping him a new one, you'll have to get in line behind Annie and me," Lydia said as she put her cup back on the coffee table. House had to smile; Lydia usually didn't talk that way, he thought. This must really be a sore spot.

"I wouldn't be stupid enough to try and cut that line, cane or not," said House. "Now fill me in on some of the Strohman family history."

"Strohman-Krumholtz, actually; Wilhelm Krumholtz was my grandfather and he owned a very successful bakery in Wiesbaden, near the military base. The bakery was known for two things in particular: their soft gingerbread cookies and their stollen. My grandmother worked with him using her grandmother's recipes. They were distinctive for having cinnamon sugar and nutmeg on the top of their stollen instead of the usual powdered sugar or icing. And nobody made soft gingerbread cookies; they were always the hard, crunchy type that you were afraid would break your teeth. So theirs were very popular and always sold out every day. One day, my grandfather's best friend who delivered dairy products to markets in the region, persuaded him to package some of the cookies and stollen up, and Bernard took them around to his stops. Well, they were such a hit, that long story short, my grandfather, his brother Paul, and Bernard invested in building a small factory so that the items could be produced in larger quantity."

"Frau Krumholtz Cookies and Stollen," House said smiling. Lydia's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Yes, that was the name they sold them under; how…?"

"I lived at that base for a while, remember? I used to beg my mother to go into town to Krumholtz's just to get those cookies." House shook his head. "I would drive my mother crazy; even if we weren't going anywhere near the bakery on a trip into the town, I'd beg and plead until she relented and took me over there. One time, my father went with us into Wiesbaden, a rare occurrence; by the end of the trip he was calling me a whiny, wimpy brat for asking for those cookies so damn much." Lydia shook her head in amazement.

"You used to go to my grandfather's bakery; I…I just can't believe…"

"Why not? The base was right there and it was the best bakery in town." House thought for a moment. "Your family wasn't still running the shop at that point, though. Your grandfather had died years before when your mom was little."

"Yes, but to this day, they still use my great-great grandmother's recipes. We've always kept in touch with the new owners who were another family run company from Austria. The name, Frau Krumholtz, was so well known and popular, that they kept it when they took over and decided to keep the original shop going." Lydia's pride in her family's achievements was very evident. House enjoyed seeing her in a moment of happiness; but he was about to change the subject.

"What exactly happened to your grandfather?" he asked.

"My grandfather was a very hands on person. He not only personally oversaw the bakery operations, but if something needed repairing, he would fix it himself rather than calling in a repairman. The cookies and stollen all passed through these large ovens on conveyer belts to bake and when they came out at the end, they were put on cooling racks and then packaged. One day there was a problem where the items were coming out under baked; so my grandfather started to work on things and was kneeling on the framework of belt just where it entered the oven, when there was a malfunction…a flashback or puff back…I'm not sure what the right term is, and he was horribly burned. He lived only three days and then succumbed to his injuries; my grandmother was devastated. Here, she had a two-year old child to raise and…the kind of success the bakery had, was beyond anything my grandfather imagined. It was a dream they were supposed to share together." Lydia reached over for the tissues that House had brought out earlier and wiped her eyes; House held his hand out to her. She hadn't even told him yet about the financial issues that had her upset, but he was beginning to get an idea of where the conversation was going. She took his hand and squeezed it gently, grateful for the comfort it provided.

"So your grandmother went from _hausfrau_ to business woman in short order; the Martha Stewart of her day." House noted.

"Well, she had always worked overseeing the actual mixing and baking of the things they sold, right on through the factory being built. After my grandfather's death, she continued in that role, with my great-uncle Paul and Bernard running the business part of things. Everything went very smoothly for years, until Paul passed away; my grandmother and Bernard decided to sell the business. Since Paul had no heirs, the money was spilt fifty/fifty."

"Either my math skills have greatly declined, or something was done unfairly there. Your grandfather had one third, Paul had one third and Bernie had one third of the business. Your grandfather's third went to your grandmother; when Paul died, his one third should have gone to your grandmother, giving her two thirds, not one half. It seems Bernie over-kneaded the strudel dough," concluded House.

"That was just the beginning of money not winding up where it should be." Lydia ran her hand through her hair. "What is left of the money my grandmother got is still more than most people would get or save in a lifetime and I shouldn't complain; but I've seen such a huge sum of money disappear in the twenty or so years since I took things over, that…I feel like a failure when it comes to protecting what my grandfather worked so hard for."

"OK, here come the really nosy but necessary questions: how much are we originally talking about and what happened to it? And what is dirt bag trying to get his hands on?" he asked. Lydia swallowed hard a few times trying to compose herself and then looked at House.

"The business was sold for almost four million dollars; by the time lawyers' fees were subtracted, it was down to a bit over three and half million. That was split between Bernard and my grandmother; the government considered that she inherited not one, but two pieces of the business. So she paid the inheritance tax twice. She had her lawyer argue the point, but to no avail." House looked annoyed.

"So the government double dipped on her, too." Lydia nodded. "I think she should have made a few of those hard gingerbread cookies and winged them at the G-men's heads."

"I always said she should have made an arsenic laced stolen and sent it as a Christmas present to them," Lydia laughed. "Oh, how my mother used to yell at me for saying that." House gave her a wicked grin.

"You do have an evil streak in you, don't you?"

"Only when properly prompted," she replied. Lydia looked at House gratefully. "Thank you for not being mad that I hadn't explained all of this to you sooner."

"You haven't explained all of it…yet," said House.

"I'll continue. My grandmother had, by this point, one point four million. My family didn't believe in financial advisors or playing the stock market and the like, so it went into the bank and probably under the mattress. As it was needed, it was used to care for my grandmother until her death; then my mother inherited it and she paid taxes all over again. My parents put part of the money into an account in my name; thank God they did, because when they had the accident and needed medical care, a certain percentage of their resources had to be contributed before we received any government assistance. But the money that was in my name couldn't be considered, only the assets they held."

"Did your parents hold dual citizenship?" House asked.

"Yes. Mr. Harris, Annie's father was very helpful in guiding us through all the paperwork with that. I had become a U.S. citizen when I was eighteen; I had the feeling I would be staying here and it seemed the right thing to do. My parents became citizens after the accident when my father was no longer an official part of the diplomatic office."

"Didn't Annie's father work for the State Department? That's how you two met." Lydia smiled.

"Yes, it was at a reception for the families of newly appointed diplomats to the U.S.; the families of State Department employees were there also to make everyone feel comfortable and give it a less formal feel. When I went over to the piano that was in the corner and started playing it, Annie came over immediately and told me she wished she had her cello with her…and that's how it started." Lydia was more relaxed than she had been earlier, the happiness of the memory bringing her obvious pleasure. House put his head down and started to chuckle. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"I'm thinking about when Wilson and I first met; here he was, the youngest oncologist in the room, the boy wonder, holding a fellowship that anyone twice his age would kill for…and he's being hauled away in handcuffs for throwing a bottle and breaking an antique mirror."

"Isn't that when James was going through his divorce?" Lydia asked.

"His _first_ divorce," House qualified. "He would march down the road of marital mayhem twice more." He shook his head. "Wilson never learned the idea that sealing the deal with a ring doesn't make everything perfect. You can say the vows as sweetly as you want; most people either break them or wind up living a lie."

"Not most," Lydia said sadly looking down at her lap. "Although in my case, I'm guilty on both counts." House realized that while what she said was true, he had made her feel like he was accusing her.

"You did what you thought you had to so you could survive. Wilson…has to learn the difference between someone being needy and someone needing help; hopefully he'll learn that this time." House looked around his apartment. "My opinion has always been formed by the lies and disasters I saw happening around me. If you're choices are hemlock and strychnine, why even bother choosing?"

"What if your choices were a beautiful rose and exotic lily?" Lydia asked. House cringed.

"In the midst of all this depressing talk of poisons, lies and betrayals you're going to bring up the idea of pretty flowers?" he asked as he looked at Lydia. "I'd take the edelweiss without a second thought." She looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled as she realized what House meant. "Now, on to nasty stuff of a different nature: if I had to take a guess, I'd say that slime monster wants to get his mitts on Grandpa's money. Am I right?" Lydia nodded.

"What's left of it. When we got married, he convinced me to buy the house that you came to the night after Annie left Mayfield; he said to regard it as an investment. It made sense at the time given the real estate market. So I used five hundred thousand dollars of my money and bought the house."

"How the hell did he find out about the money?" demanded House. He saw that Lydia was quickly tearing up; you have got to be kidding me, he thought. "You told him?" House said trying not to sound too incredulous.

"We were talking one night, and he said something about all this money he had despite the fact that his parents disowned him. He always treated for everything, he would never let me pay; I didn't have any reason to doubt him or feel that he was after my money. Plus, somewhere in the back of my mind…he was Annie's brother and nothing connected with her could ever hurt me."

"Boy, were you off the mark on that," House commented. "Wait a second; didn't you say he was a salesman?"

"Yes and he charged all our dates to an expense account. Of course, I found out about that later on. The main problem is…and I don't believe how naïve I was…I put the house into both our names." House rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me you did that." House moved Lydia's legs, stood up from the couch and began to limp around the room. "Tell me you went on a month long drinking binge and couldn't think straight; tell me he faked your signature...badly." Lydia began to cry, but she also became defensive.

"I was all alone; the only person I had was lost in her own little world. I married him, he was my husband; I trusted him because that's what you're supposed to do with your spouse. That's what I believed."

"Yeah, trusting your spouse is a great idea; your parents and mine were great examples of that. Which is why people shouldn't get married in the first place; it's legalized insanity." House placed his elbows on the edge of the piano and rested his head in his hands. He knew he needed to calm down; the only person he was actually angry at wasn't even in the room. Shocked would have been the best word to describe how he was feeling; not at the amount of money, but at the situation Lydia allowed herself to get into. Deep down, he couldn't blame her…

"AHH! OW!" The exclamations came at the same time as a thud; House turned to the couch and didn't see Lydia on it. He moved toward the coffee table and realized that she was on the floor between the table and the sofa.

"What the hell happen?" House said as he came over. He quickly got down on the floor next to Lydia and helped her into a sitting position.

"I was trying to stand up; I think…I should go…"

"You are in no shape to go anywhere," House said sharply. He turned her leg to take a look; the area looked more swollen than before. Lydia was sobbing so intensely, that House wasn't sure what to do; then he did the only thing that made sense: he held her. She fell against him, trying to catch her breath.

"I'm such an idiot…" she began.

"You're not an idiot…and I'm not mad about anything other than the way that ass took advantage of you and manipulated you. Wilson thinks I hold the championship belt in that category; wait until I tell him about this jerk." House kissed the top of Lydia's head. "I know what it feels like to be scared of being alone; you try to convince yourself you're OK with it…and then you become aware of the fact that you're lying." He looked down at Lydia as he cradled her in his arms. "You're the one who made me realize that. So you get desperate enough that you do stupid, misguided things, both real and imagined in my case; and in the long run you still have nothing but an empty spot across the dinner table from you and an extra pillow next to you in bed. What kills me right now is that you had to go through that the way I did." Despite his better efforts, House found that he had a few tears rolling down his cheek; he quickly brushed them away so Lydia didn't see them. She was upset enough as it was. "Come on, let's get you off the floor; that gorgeous tush of yours deserves better treatment than it's getting." Lydia managed to smile even though she still had tears pouring out of her eyes.

"Greg, I love you so much." House smiled.

"I love you and your cute butt, too; just do me a favor: finish up this tale of greed so I can go get us something to eat. There are few things I do well on an empty stomach; dealing with this is not one of them." He helped Lydia onto the couch.

"That's another thing we have to get taken care of sooner rather than later," House said indicating her leg. "When the dreaded phone call is over, we are going straight to the hospital." Lydia shook her head in agreement. He handed her some tissues and as she blew her nose and cleaned up, he went into the kitchen and got fresh cups of coffee for the both of them.

"OK; finish the tale of woe," House said as he set the cups down.

"With the house in both our names, the check from the sale of the house came in that way from the bank; I refused to sign it which made him furious. My lawyer said I did the right thing because I have proof that I paid for the house with money that was mine. Except he's filed a claim using some obscure law in Arizona that says in certain instances, property held by the individual beforehand becomes community property upon marriage and therefore is to be divided equally between the parties upon divorce. My lawyer says he's just trying to harass me by filing the suit; there are one or two judges who go by the letter of the law, but hopefully we won't get them to rule on our case."

"So, he wants half the house and half the money you inherited from your mother; you kept the money from your mother all in your name, I hope," said House. Lydia closed her eyes.

"Yes, I did; but with that stupid law, there's chance he'll still get his hands on it. And the thing is, he wants half the amount that was in the account when we got married."

"How much have you taken out? Living expenses after you two separated, some things for the kids…what else was there?" Lydia reached over, picked up her coffee cup and took a drink. "I had a major expense after I was married; it involves Annie." House regarded her carefully, unsure of what was coming next. "Most of Annie's medical bills were paid by private insurance and the state; more than usual because I had threatened to sue on Annie's behalf since the men who attacked her never should have been out on parole. But like my parents, a certain percentage of her assets had to be used toward her care. Annie had received a nice bit of money from her father after he passed away; her mother predeceased him. She wasn't comfortable with the money being all in her name, so she put me down as co-holder of a trust she formed. It worked out well, because then there was less for the state to insist that I use for her care." Lydia took another sip of coffee and put the mug down on the table. "Three years into her stay at Mayfield, they came to me and said we are moving Annie to Cherry Wood Crest rehab which was a two hour trip one way. I asked why and they said that Mayfield was too expensive and the state would no longer pay to keep her there; the only way she could stay was if I was willing to contribute three thousand dollars a month to her care to make up the cost difference."

"Like Mayfield was the Waldorf-Astoria or the Ritz," House said contemptuously. He looked at Lydia. "Considering Annie was at Mayfield when I showed up, you paid it…for seven, seven and half years after the initial three that the state coughed up. That's…"

"It came to two hundred sixty-one thousand dollars…and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"So dick for brains wants a judge to say that the money has to go back into the supposed joint fund? Money that was used to care for his sister? That's asinine," raged House.

"The whole thing is; he actually wants the college funds I set up for the children to go back in also." House jumped up from the arm of the couch where he had been sitting.

"I know several methods of very painful castration involving dull, rusted instruments; can I practice on him, please, pretty please?"

"Be my guest; I never enjoyed it any way." House had to smile as that evil streak in Lydia re-emerged.

"So, I hate to bring this down to brass tacks, but what kind of numbers are we talking about? Should I be taking off my socks so I can use my toes to help count?"

"No; I know the numbers all too well. In a nutshell, if he wins, I wind up with approximately three hundred thousand before paying the balance of my lawyer's fees; if I win, I'll have a little less than one million dollars. That would include the total price of the house, him not getting any of my grandmother's money and leaving the children's education funds alone. Like I said, it's more than most people have to keep in the bank in a lifetime; but when I think about the fact that if he wins, I'll have less than twenty percent of what my grandmother started out with, that I let that money slip away…and to him, of all people." Lydia looked up at House. "It's not his money! He has no right to act like it is!" Her voice was getting louder as she got more upset. "My Oma and Opa worked to earn that money; Opa died taking care of the business he built up with his bare hands…literally. He helped build the factory building itself. And I let this bastard weasel his way into my life and take it from my family? He doesn't deserve it; not after the way her treated the children…or Annie…or me." Lydia began sobbing again and House came forward to squeeze in on the edge of the couch so he could hold her. "I…I just keep thinking back…"

"Stop thinking back," House commanded. "Deal with what's here. The money that was spent took care of your grandmother, your parents, your best friend and your kids' future. The only criticism I have is the house situation and even there you had extenuating circumstances. You have nothing to feel guilty or stupid about; I think your family would be very proud of how you handled things." House hesitated for a moment. "I know I am." Lydia held on to House even tighter than before.

"And here," she said as she pushed back from him after a few minutes, "I was afraid you were going to think, 'How the hell is she going to handle the job at the hospital that Dr. Foreman was talking about, if she can't handle things like this?'" House thought for a moment.

"First of all, I would never call him 'Dr. Foreman'; it's always just Foreman or Black Beauty or something else equally creative. Secondly, decisions made in the heat of emotional turmoil won't happen too frequently with the job you may be doing there. Thirdly, even if the person making a comment about the subject has a pair bigger than the ball they drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve…they'd better keep their mouth shut, especially around me." Lydia smiled and leaned forward to kiss House; she ran her fingers down his cheek several times, stopping to play with his ear once in a while. "Hey, cut that out; you're going to get yourself into trouble," House said. "And you can't handle that kind of trouble right now," he said looking over his shoulder at Lydia's leg.

"No, I'm afraid not," she agreed. He looked at her intently.

"Can you stand one more prying question right now?" House asked. Lydia nodded. "If you can't touch any of the money you told me about because it's in dispute, what have you been living off of?"

"Annie was very upset when I told her about me paying the extra to keep her at Mayfield. She doesn't have enough to pay me back for it, and I wouldn't take it even if she did. We were afraid to set up an account with my name on it. My ex never knew about the trust fund and we are trying to keep it that way; after all, all of that is Annie's money. So she opened a regular checking account in her name only, in the amount of fifty thousand dollars. I have the ATM card plus the checks and the money is all mine to use as needed. I have a checking account in my name with a small amount of money in it, so the fourteen hundred I get each month for child support can go in there." Lydia took a deep breath. "It seems even that money goes out so quickly; by the time I took care of half the rent and security deposit, rented the car, bought groceries to start the new kitchen with, the paint for the bedrooms…there's more than enough left, don't get me wrong. Especially after you bought me my bedroom set and gave me my rocker and piano back. But seeing so much disappear over the years…I just get scared." House looked down at the floor.

"You've actually done a lot of smart things with the money, especially protecting it for your kids. Most of what's gone of your grandparents' money was taken by the government, not due to anything you did wrong. I have a financial advisor I trust; he's done well by me over the years. If you want, you can talk to him; see what suggestions he may have." House stood up and picked up his coffee cup.

"I'm not used to the idea of discussing finances with someone; like I had said, it was something my family just didn't do." Lydia turned to look at House as he walked toward the kitchen. "You really trust this guy?"

"Let's put it this way," House said as he entered the kitchen, "I don't have as much as your grandmother did after the German government wound up raiding her stash. But," he said as he came back out, "even if you win, and get everything you want from your ex…" House sat on the edge of the couch, "…I'll still have more than you." Lydia's eyes opened wide. "That's after paying my lawyers over and above their usual on a number of occasions, malpractice insurance…I only have a few toys: my bike, my piano, my guitar, my flat screen television, my computer, my iPod. My car is over fifteen years old and my cost of living here is negligible. I have never been on a luxury vacation; I've gone camping and hiking with Wilson and that was before my leg. I had only one semi-expensive vice and I gladly gave that up over a week ago. What was I going to do with the money? I spent it on the things I wanted and needed." He put his arms around Lydia. "And now, I intend on continuing to do the same." House brushed Lydia's cheek with the back of his hand. "I want to make sure, after everything you've been through, that you feel safe and secure and happy; I don't care what it takes." Lydia looked at House with a serene smile.

"I've got my kids, I've got Annie…or maybe I should say Annie and James," she said holding up crossed fingers and laughing. "I have you; I have everything I need to be happy." House considered what Lydia said.

"I guess I could even be persuaded to buy into that list, too," he said with a smile. House gave Lydia a gentle kiss. "Now before any more distractions come up, let me go…"

The music of an era gone by came from House's cell phone as the strains of "Dancing Queen" by ABBA floated through the room. House grimaced as he reached over and picked up his cell phone.

"Unless you're offering food and sustenance and lots of it, this phone will self-destruct in ten seconds. Ten, nine…"

"Actually, we were going to get bagels and I called to see if you wanted any," Wilson said hesitantly. House looked surprised.

"We?" he asked. "_WE_?" he repeated with even more emphasis as he looked at Lydia. "Who would we be?" he asked again as he put his phone on speaker and sat back down. Lydia had a big smile on her face as she considered the possibilities of Wilson's statement.

"We is Annie and I…or should that be Annie and me?" asked Wilson as he over-thought the situation.

"Who cares? It's us," Annie's muffled voice said happily. House and Lydia heard Wilson's phone being fiddled with and suddenly realized they were on speaker. "Good morning, you two," Annie said clearly.

"My, you're in a good mood this morning," commented House. "Now why would that be?"

"Greg! Don't get personal," Lydia admonished.

"I didn't ask for gory details; I just want to know on a scale of one to ten…"

"Ten," Annie and Wilson answered together and then started to laugh. House looked at the phone skeptically.

"You planned that," he said.

"No," answered Annie. "But even if we did, anytime you can wake up next to the guy you love…it's a ten."

"Agreed," Lydia said looking at House. "It's ten plus when they love you, too."

"Hey, can we get in on this numbers' racket, too? Or is this only a girls' thing?" Wilson asked. House and Lydia could hear Annie giggling.

"I hate to break up this celebration of newfound love, but you have a couple of starving people over here," House said. "All we've had so far is coffee and talk of greed and dollars and cents."

"I told Greg all about my financial situation this morning," Lydia explained.

"No wonder you sound stuffy; you must have been crying like crazy after describing what my brother's trying to do."

"Hey, no mentioning the lagoon monster without the proper derogatory term," House corrected. "Speaking of creatures from the deep, why aren't you at the hospital working with Inky on that Medical Records proposal?" he asked Wilson. "I have a nervous nelly waiting here to see if this thing is even going to happen." Wilson laughed.

"I am way ahead of you; I read the proposal over yesterday at work; I have two or three minor questions about procedures and I think Foreman and I are on the same page. As far as someone to fill the position…we'll have to see who we can find," he said with a slight teasing tone in his voice.

"James, please don't bust chops right now; it's been a stressful morning," Lydia begged.

"I'm sorry; I would trust you to do this job, Lydia, no problem. I knew you did the billing work from home, but I had no idea you had such a strong background in the I.D.C. area."

"Neither did I," admitted House.

"Foreman and I will probably tell Medical Records tomorrow that we're good with this; the Board of Directors meets Thursday, so we can present it to them then."

"Thursday! The meeting isn't going to go late, is it?" Annie asked.

"No; why…" Wilson suddenly realized why she was asking. "Your concert. What time does it start?"

"Seven-thirty. It goes until about nine, nine-thirty and then there's a wine and cheese reception afterwards."

"No problem, the meeting's at eleven," said Wilson as he gave Annie a kiss. "So, you guys want bagels?"

"Yeah, everything with cream cheese for Fraulein; I'll get adventurous and take a bialy with scallion cream cheese. And a salt, nothing on it; I can gnaw on it like a pretzel when I take this one back to the hospital later."

"What?" Annie yelled. "Why is she going back to the hospital?"

"House, what's going on?" Wilson could see Annie was getting upset and wanted to reassure her.

"There's seepage through the stitches, it's swollen and warm to the touch."

"An infection formed that quickly?"

"Either there's debris in there that Chase and I didn't see, or the fact that it wasn't cleaned out quickly enough allowed the yeast to encourage bacteria. He's going to take a look at it when we get in there and see if he has to open it up again or if it can just be drained. No matter what, we're going to load her up on antibiotics." Wilson sighed.

"Which patient are you going to steal them from?" he asked sarcastically.

"I won't tell you; it'll keep you above the fray."

"Thanks; I appreciate that. OK, we'll go get the bagels and we'll see you in a little bit."

"Just let yourself in; I've got to make sure Lydia keeps the stitches dry when she takes a shower. If sounds like we're having too much fun, knock three times on the bathroom door so we know you're here."

"Anything you say, House," Wilson said laughing.

"Bye, sweetie; see you in a little bit," Annie said. "Feel better."

"I'll be fine; don't worry about me. I'm literally in good hands," Lydia said. House and Lydia heard Wilson's phone end the call; House did the same with his.

"Now that we've killed two birds with one stone, I can wrap your leg, help you with a shower, control myself while doing that, and help you get dressed. You'll be ready for your bagel." House stood up and headed for the kitchen.

"That sounds great," Lydia said gratefully. "Oh, Greg, I realized that there was one more thing I should mention, but this is a good thing: the house in Arizona was a rental. We didn't have a lease, so there was nothing to worry about in reference to breaking a contract." House was relieved; he was worried that maybe her version of good news wasn't his.

"Why rent?"

"My ex rushed everything about leaving New Jersey and getting out there, that we didn't have time to find a house; we had been out there a few times before and he tried to convince me to move out there back then, but I wasn't leaving Annie." House smiled.

"Yet another time when you did the right thing." House went to the kitchen, got out plastic wrap and went back into the living room to proceed with covering up Lydia's stitches; using the wrap and the first-aid tape he brought out of the bathroom earlier, he sealed off the area, making it waterproof without being constrictive. He was about to help her down the hall, when he had an idea; going to the bedroom, House went to the closet and rummaged around for a minute before finding what he wanted.

"Here you go, Fraulein; not so gently used, but it has had only one previous owner." With a flourish, House handed Lydia his Flame cane.

"This is different than the ones I've seen before," she said as she examined it.

"I've been using the one the team gave me since you've been here. I was going to give you my skull cane, but I thought this was more in keeping with your fiery personality…both in and out of the bedroom." Lydia gave him a skeptical look as she took the hand he offered to help her stand up. Once she was on her feet, she adapted quickly to using the cane for support; House felt comfortable enough to quickly take a shower and then help Lydia with hers.

She kept her left leg outside the tub on a towel; it made her a little less steady to be at two different levels, but between House and the pull bar he had installed on the wall years ago, she did just fine. House, for his part, had to really concentrate on getting done quickly and getting Lydia out of the shower; he found helping her wash her hair particularly sensual. Maybe it was a throwback to seeing Warren Beatty in "Shampoo" all those years ago. Whatever it was, he made a mental note to do this as often as they could in the future; it would prove to be a difficult task with Lydia's kids here, but House knew he'd find a way. They wrapped towels around themselves and made their way into the bedroom where House quickly threw on some clothes, then retrieved the items of clothing Lydia wanted to wear. House was just undoing the plastic wrap from Lydia's leg, when they heard voices.

"Hello! Anyone home?" Wilson called out.

"In the bedroom." Lydia answered.

"Shhh! Do you have to broadcast it to the neighborhood?" House admonished her. Annie and Wilson appeared in the doorway. "There, now, you see? Everyone wants a piece of the action." As he spoke, he removed the last of the wrap; Annie gasped.

"OMG! Lydia!" she cried out. Annie came closer and sat down on the bed.

"It's OK; it…it's throbbing…but I just keep telling myself that in a little while, I'll be able to get some relief."

"Mentally and emotionally as well as physically," commented Wilson as he came over to take a look at it.

"I told James about the financial situation while we were getting the food; I hope you don't mind," Annie said to Lydia.

"Of course not; when it comes to things like who has power of attorney and who is the health care proxy and what our wishes are…I think we can all trust each other and can count on each other to back up one another if things go wrong. It's something we should discuss," Lydia said as she looked around at all of them. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"One night, we ought to get together, get some food in and take turns…showing what we've got, so to speak," she said giggling at her own risqué comment.

"You _are_ in a good mood this morning," said Lydia as Annie fell against her still laughing. "I'm impressed," she said addressing Wilson. "Normally, she's not much of a morning person."

"I…I'm not sure…exactly… what's bringing this on; but it's nice to see," Wilson said smiling.

"Well, I'm ready for my bagel," said Lydia as she picked up the Flame cane and started to make her way out of the room and down the hall. When she got to the living room, she headed straight for the couch.

"Same seats as last night?" asked Annie.

"Sure," Wilson said with a shrug. Annie, Wilson and House pulled the food together and brought it into the living room. The four sat and relaxed; not much was said at first as they were all quite hungry and concentrated on the food. Slowly, House started teasing Wilson and Annie about spending the night together and quickly found out just how bawdy her sense of humor could be. While Wilson tended to be thought of as the more reserved of the two best friends, clearly Annie was the more outgoing between her and Lydia. They were all having a good laugh over something she said, when House's cell phone started playing Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl."

"It's Thirteen," he said picking it up. "Tell me you found the bullet that was shot into his head at Ford's theater; we take it out and he'll be fine."

"We have a problem; he won't let us touch him."

"I keep telling you to hold off mentioning the bi thing until after you finish exams; some people just aren't mature enough to handle the concept."

"I'm serious. He gave us his medical history which fell in line with what he told you and Chase; but when I went to listen to his heart, and Taub tried to check his reflexes, he freaked out. He said he's had too many bad experiences in the past and the only ones he trusts are you, Chase and Wilson." House rubbed his forehead.

"Where's Crocodile Dundee?"

"Trying to get some sleep; he's of no use to anyone if he doesn't get some rest. I'm outside of Scotty's room; do you want to try and talk to him?" House winced.

"Sure." As Thirteen walked her phone into Scotty, he saw that Lydia had taken out her laptop and turned it on; House glanced at his watch and saw it was eleven twenty-five.

"Good morning, Dr. House," Scotty said.

"It's almost afternoon and my team still hasn't been able to get an intimate look at you yet," House said as he began to pace the room. "Not intimate like Dewdrop, your girlfriend, but some numbers and notes we can put down on paper and use to figure out what's going on with you would be helpful."

"My girlfriend's name is Misty; and I know that I need to be examined and you have to run tests, but can't you or Dr. Chase or even Dr. Wilson do it? I…I'm sorry, but I don't know who to trust; I don't know who'll listen to me and believe me." House closed his eyes; he understood where Scotty was coming from all too well.

"OK, here's the verbal guidebook to who should be trusted: standing before you is a hot chick, a few years older than you and a penguin with a big nose, right?"

"Yeah," Scotty said laughing.

"Good. Now roaming around somewhere is a big, overly suntanned guy in sharp clothing; he's a pain in my ass, but a GQ dresser. His name is Dr. Foreman. Those three plus Dr. Chase are my team; Dr. Wilson and Dr. Foreman are running the hospital at the moment. Those are the people you can trust. And me. If I'm going to help you, they have to do the exams and tests on you. I'll be there in about an hour to an hour and a half and I'll go over anything we may have found."

"Alright," Scotty said hesitantly. "I'll let 'em do what they have to."

"Good; now give me back to the smokin' babe."

"Nicely done," Thirteen said. "He's letting Taub listen to his chest." House heard a traditional phone ringing and realized it was the Skype on Lydia's computer.

"Gotta go," House said and ended the call. He put his phone on silent; Annie and Wilson joined House over by the piano; Lydia had asked that they not be seen by her ex so he had the impression that she was alone. She nodded and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Ms. Strohman, it's Mike Kelly. I'm here with Mr. Harris and his attorney Mr. Peterson. How are you doing today?"

"Fine, thank you," said Lydia, lying through her teeth. Mike Kelly had been her attorney from the beginning of this whole mess; she would let him know later what was going on.

"Good," Mike said. "Um…Mr. Harris is under a bit of a time constraint, so I'm going to let him talk so he can get to his business appointment and then Mr. Peterson and I can handle any questions for you." The computer monitor swiveled around and Lydia gasped as she saw that her ex was holding Ben and Elise; they were supposed to be with Annie's cousin, Pat.

"Hi, Mommy!" a sweet little voice said.

"Hi, Mom," said an obvious young male's voice. House, Annie and Wilson all took several steps toward the couch when they heard the kids' voices.

"Hi, Sweeties! How are you?" Lydia said trying to maintain her composure. "Why aren't you with Pat?"

"She's sick," Elise said making the gesture for vomiting.

"Barf city," Ben added in, sticking his tongue out.

"Oh, that's too bad," Lydia said.

"Hey, my sweet little naïve, Lydia," Ben, Lydia's ex said. "Yeah, Pat called me and told me she didn't think the kids should stay near her, so I picked them up. It all sort of works out well; I really needed…a visual that I could use to make this proposition to you."

"Ever the salesman, aren't you, Ben?"

"Yeah, and you foolishly bought into it hook line and sinker a long time ago. But, let's see if you're smart enough to make a deal that…ultimately…you really want. I," Ben said wrapping his arms around little Ben and Elise, "have something you greatly desire. And you would love more than anything to get me away from them, to get me out of their lives permanently; after all, they don't love me. They don't even like me. And I certainly don't love or like them." House's hands were clenched in fists at Ben's words; how could this bastard talk like that right in front of the kids? Did he think they didn't understand what was being said? House knew from experience, even a very young child knows…

"What are you saying?" Lydia asked trying not to cry.

"How about I give up all parental rights to these two and be out of everybody's lives forever; for the sum of…oh, let's say…half a million dollars?"

"WHAT?" Lydia yelled.

"Oh, come on, Lydia; how much do you really love your kids?"


	8. Chapter 8

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Eight- "Yield"

By: purpleu

"YOU BASTARD!" screamed Lydia.

"Ooh! Nice talk in front of the little ones," Ben said sarcastically.

"How dare you? How dare you try to buy and sell the children like they're one of your accounts! You don't own them!"

"And you don't either; but you can if you're smart about things. You want what's yours," he said indicating the kids. "I want what's rightfully mine. I know you have the money; I don't care how you got it, I don't care whether the marriage was a sham and you know damn well it was for both of us. The fact is we were married. I am entitled to that money and I want it."

"You…" Annie started to say, but quickly put her hand over her mouth; unfortunately, Ben heard her.

"Oh, isn't that cute…you have Little Orphan Annie there to protect you; it figures you couldn't handle this without someone to lean on. I swear, you are such a dopey wuss." House, Wilson and Annie were trying to silently gesture to each other to keep things calm; all of them wanted nothing more than to go over to the computer and tell Ben what a freaking jackass he was. "You know, I'm surprised you had the guts to leave me without having someone else to run to; who knows, maybe you did. You were awfully eager to get back to New Jersey."

"I came here to get as far away from you as I could; you were an abusive S.O.B…."

"You have no proof of that; you were too nice and too dense to file any police reports over alleged incidents," Ben said choosing his words carefully. He looked at his watch. "I have a business meeting to get to." Ben stood up, his face leaving the viewing screen.

"Wait…who's going to be watching the children?"

"I neither know nor care; see, if you had full custody of them right now, you wouldn't be worrying about that. Think it over, Lydia; for once prove that you know how to use your money wisely." Suddenly, he was gone from the screen; little Ben and Elise were still in view.

"Lydia, don't worry about the kids," her attorney Mike Kelly said as he came into view. "Peggy Allen, my law clerk, is going to watch them; if you remember her daughter Sally is nine, so they should have fun together."

"Mike I'm so sorry," Lydia said, trying not to cry in front of the children.

"It's OK, we had a heads up; Pat called me late yesterday and told me she was sick. I was coming back from Tucson, so I couldn't pick them up and Peggy's car had been dropped off at the dealer's for maintenance. We had no choice but to let Ben pick them up. He left their car and booster seats, so don't worry about that. Pat was heading to the doctor this morning to make sure it's just a twenty-four hour bug; she should be able to take them back tonight."

"If not, they're more than welcome to stay with me. Hi, Lydia."

"Hi, Peggy," Lydia said smiling at the familiar sound of the law clerk's voice. "I appreciate all of this so much…"

"No problem. Hey, the food truck's out there; he gets his donuts from Molly May's shop…want to go get some?" Peggy said to the kids.

"We don't have any money," Ben said.

"Daddy took it," Elise added in.

"What…what do you mean, 'Daddy took it?'" asked Lydia incredulously.

"Every time we visit Daddy, Pat gives us money," Elise said.

"Cause Pat says he never has any money to buy us anything," Ben said. "Then Dad says we're too little to have money, so he takes it; but he won't even buy us lunch or anything."

"Unless we cry," Elise said. "And then he gets mad." The little girl looked down at the floor.

"Look, guys, go outside with Peggy; she'll help you get something to eat and drink," Mike said. "When you come back in, I'll let you talk to Mommy again, OK?"

"OK…bye, Mommy," Elise said as she blew a kiss.

"I caught it," Lydia replied fighting her tears.

"See ya," Ben said.

"Bye; see you in a few minutes," answered Lydia. When she heard the door of Mike's office close, she started crying; yet at the same time, her voice became very strong. "Mike, I'll do what I have to; after they move here on Friday, I never want them to deal with him again."

"Lydia, I've had a long talk with Mr. Peterson, Ben's attorney," Mike said nodding to his left. "He wishes he could drop your ex as a client, but it would put us back to square one. He's on our side, but he has to walk a thin line to make things look good. We've worked out a game plan that's as close to what a judge would most likely give you anyway. When the kids come back in, we're going into my conference room and work out a few more details. Once they're set, I'll e-mail them to you. I'm sorry you had to be subjected to that nastiness before. Your ex gave the impression he actually wanted to _talk_ to you; Mr. Peterson and I both got that feeling."

"It's OK; I just hate having the children hear talk like that; it's all they knew growing up." Lydia lifted her eyes to House and thought about what he had said earlier: how his view of relationships was formed by what he grew up with.

"Is Annie really there with you; or was he just assuming she was?" Mike asked.

"No, I'm here," Annie said sitting down to Lydia's left. "Lydia's got a couple of friends here with her. She's got a bunch of people who love her and are taking care of her." Annie was thinking of House's team besides House and Wilson. She told Mike how everyone pitched in and helped out with moving and fixing up the house. Annie also told Mike about House arranging to get the piano back and the rocker fixed.

"That is wonderful! I'm so glad you got your piano back, Lydia; I know how much it hurt you to sell it. The kids were devastated, too."

"Yes, we all were; but I have someone very special watching out for me now," she said looking over at House. "I know things are going to be much better from now on."

"Nothing like putting a little pressure on a guy," House said quietly to Wilson. He smiled at House and shook his head.

"You've got company in that area," he said looking over his shoulder at Annie.

"Excuse me. Mike?" Roger Peterson's voice could be heard off camera. "I've got to take this call. I'll meet you in the conference room."

"Sounds good," Mike said. Peterson left the office. "Never met a lawyer so against his own client; then again, never met a client quiet as nasty and petty as your ex. And I've been doing this job for twenty-six years." Mike shook his head. "He wanted you to pay his lawyers' fees for filing the suit to get the extra money; he said if you never divorced him, he never would have filed the suit."

"If she had never divorced him, she'd probably be dead; and so would the kids," House said. He had begun to slowly make his way over to Lydia; he wasn't sure how she felt about her lawyer knowing he was there. At this point, he didn't care; he wanted to at least provide some kind of human contact to give her comfort.

"I take it that voice belongs to the good doctor you've mentioned to me."

"So you do kiss and tell," House said as he sat down to Lydia's right. He leaned over and kissed her cheek; he wanted to be more demonstrative, but he didn't want Lydia to be embarrassed in front of her lawyer.

"Mike Kelly, Dr. Gregory House," Lydia said. "Mike's the one who guided me through my divorce; now he's guiding me through the land mines of finances and custody."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. House; Lydia's told me a lot about you. Glad to see a lady as sweet as Lydia has someone who makes her so happy; she sure as hell deserves it."

"She deserves more, but I'm working on that," House said.

"Other than when she has to deal with her ex, she looks and sounds happier that I've seen her in the past several months. Now we just have to get Annie back playing the cello again and she'll be smiling," Mike said.

"I have my first concert this Thursday, a music school has hired me to teach and I just got a message earlier this morning…" She looked at Lydia and House. "I return to the Philadelphia Philharmonic two months from Tuesday!" Lydia squealed in delight.

"Annie! That is so wonderful!" Lydia said as she hugged her.

"If you think I'm wearing a tux for that, you're crazy," House said giving Annie a wink.

"Why not? I am," Wilson said as he sat down next to Annie and gave her a hug. "I'm going to be there with bells on." Wilson suddenly remembered that the computer was on Skype and the overdone hand gestures of someone conducting that he was engaging in could be seen by Lydia's attorney. "Oh, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." He went to stand up, but Annie pulled him back down.

"Mike, this is my boyfriend, Dr. James Wilson."

"Dr. Wilson, pleasure to meet you. And for the record, I share in your enthusiasm on Annie's behalf. I think this is wonderful." Mike started gathering up some papers on his desk. "Are you and Dr. House colleagues at the same hospital?"

"Yes, Dr. House is head of Diagnostics and I'm head of Oncology," answered Wilson as he regained his composure. He saw no point in mentioning his shared duties with Foreman as it was a temporary position.

"And we're BFF…FFFFFF's…or however many F-in' things come after B," House said waving his hand.

"That works out well," said Mike, smiling. "I hear the kids coming back; I'm going to head to the conference room to work things out with Mr. Peterson. Oh, just a suggestion: I would introduce them to Dr. House before Friday. Maybe use this call as an ice breaker. The separation of the screen between you makes it less intrusive for them, lets them reserve their space. No offense, Dr. Wilson, but I wouldn't have them meet you just yet; it might be a little too overwhelming for them."

"No problem," Wilson said shrugging.

"Thanks, Mike; that's a great idea," Lydia said.

"Take care; nice to meet you gentlemen."

"Nice to meet you," Wilson and House answered in one form or another.

"We'll stay out of camera range," Annie said quietly. She took Wilson's hand and headed to the kitchen to get more coffee. Lydia looked at House.

"Ready for this?" she asked. House shook his head in the negative.

"Is anyone ever ready for the lion's den?" Lydia gave him a sympathetic look; she knew how nervous he was. "I was hoping to have a few more minutes to make you feel better after dealing with your ex; I don't know how I didn't come over here and just smash your computer in effigy of him."

"I'm glad you didn't; I wouldn't get to see the kids." She reached over and brushed the back of her hand over House's still healing left cheek.

"He is such a damned idiot," House said as he looked at Lydia. "He's got to be out of his mind." He was about to kiss her when a small voice came through the speaker on Lydia's laptop.

"Mommy, I got a mini jelly donut and a mini vanilla crème donut," Elise said. "And apple juice."

"And I got a Boston Cream and a cinnamon stick. Not minis. And apple juice," Ben said.

"Mommy…who's that?" Elise asked as she pointed at the screen in front of her.

"This is my friend, Dr. House," Lydia said. "I know I've told you about him."

"He's Mom's boyfriend," Ben said somewhat disgustedly. House very quickly saw that the boy was going to need winning over.

"Yeah, I'm the guy your mom told you about; the one who was up to his elbows in some guy's guts." House's timing could not have been any more perfect; for as he spoke, Elise bit into her jelly donut and sent the filling squirting all over the place.

"Ewwww," said Elise as she touched the jelly on her chin and hands. Ben couldn't say a word; he was laughing too hard at the perfection with which House timed his words.

"Oh, man…oh, that is cool," said Ben. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," answered House.

"Do it again!" Ben begged.

"No!" said Lydia. Thank goodness Peggy had moved things off of Mike's desk and covered it with napkins. "Help your sister; give her something to clean up with." Ben kept laughing as he handed Elise some napkins.

"Now can you do it again?"

"I could do it with your Boston Cream donut; but then it would make your sister laugh and it would lose its cool factor. Besides, the cream would look like pus."

"Wait…wait…" Lydia and House could see that Ben was gone from camera range.

"Ben, where are you?" Lydia asked.

"I'm looking for a mirror so I can see the pus squirt out of the donut." Annie and Wilson came out of the kitchen; they had heard part of the conversation and out of morbid curiosity, had to see what was going on. Lydia had her hands on either side of her head.

"I'm going to have three children, not two once they get here," she said looking at them.

"I warned you," Wilson said in a stage whisper. Annie put her fingers on his lips to quiet him; with a twinkle in her eye, she pulled him back into the kitchen.

"Hey, Ben…Ben, it's Dr. House; why don't you forget the mirror for now. There's a bakery in town that makes things to special order; I can have them overstuff a couple of Boston Creams and when you get here, we can experiment with them to see what kind of bite gets the best and furthest squirt."

"Really?" Ben said returning to camera view.

"Sure, why not?" Lydia looked at House in disbelief. All while this was going on, Elise sat calmly in her seat; she had cleaned herself up from the jelly mishap and went back to enjoying her food. After her brother settled back in next to her, she looked at him and shook her head.

"Boys!" Elise said and rolled her eyes. House tried not to laugh; but the child's tone and inflection were all so perfect, she sounded wise beyond her years. Suddenly, his cell phone started to play "Shaft." Foreman calling was never a good sign.

"I'll be right back," he said to Lydia and the kids at the same time. House left the couch and headed down the hall to his bedroom; he would have gone to the kitchen, but he wasn't sure what Wilson and Annie were doing in there.

"Where did Dr. House go?" Elise asked.

"He got a call from the hospital; he has a patient that's very sick and the hospital is calling him to either tell him test results or to tell him something that they found out that could help the patient." Lydia continued her conversation with the kids while House spoke to Foreman.

"This had better be good; my step girlfriend's children actually liked me for ten seconds. You ruined my rhythm."

"Sorry," said Foreman. "But you're really going to be pissed after I tell you about things here."

"What's going on?"

"The EEG and PET showed no conclusive results."

"What do you mean, no conclusive results; he either has brain waves or he doesn't. In which case this conversation is pointless and I can get back to amusing two rug rats with wondrous tales of how to abuse food."

"I mean the tests show no sign of epilepsy or any other definitive abnormality." House thought for a moment.

"What about an undefined abnormality?" he asked.

"That's just it; the readings, the spikes, the spacing between spikes…they're not fitting in any normal parameters. Not for the usual things we're looking for…"

"You're not supposed to be looking for the usual," House said. "I don't take cases that fit into the realm of 'usual.' Have we taken the idea of a tumor off the table yet?"

"No; but the tests don't lead us down that road…"

"They're not leading us anywhere else either," said House, annoyance creeping into his voice. "We have two choices: do an MRI to look for any physical abnormalities; or try to find the right stimulus to send this kid into a seizure, so we can see what his brain waves say to us then. Which might be more cost effective," House said knowing where Foreman's thinking had been lately, "but that may prove to be a little more endangering to our patient. What say, you, oh penny-pinching King Miser?" House heard Foreman let out a long sigh.

"Do the MRI."

"A fine choice, oh Wise One. I'll text Chase and let him know we have approval from the Big Boss to do the test; I'm going to finish up here and get Lydia in there for some treatment. Her leg's getting worse and worse as time goes on. Maybe the team will have some results and I'll have something to lead me down the right path by the time I get her in there."

"How'd the meeting with her ex go?"

"Fine until he asked how much she was willing to bid to buy her kids from him."

"What?" exclaimed Foreman. "You have got to be kidding me."

"I wish I was. I'll tell you more about it later; I'm going to text Chase."

"OK, see you later." Foreman ended the call as did House. He was about to start his message to Chase when heard Lydia laughing; he smiled and quietly came down the hall to where it met the living room proper. He wasn't ready to rejoin the conversation, but he listened as they talked about swimming in a pool, campfires and looking up at the sky at night. All things that Lydia had done with her kids and planned on doing again in the future; all were things House had rarely done or if he did, they were done alone. Lydia enjoyed being with her kids; he hoped he would come to feel the same way. Their gross donut discussion seemed to be a fun start. House texted Chase with instructions on how to proceed with the patient and told him they would be in shortly.

"Sorry about that; a big black bug wanted to talk to me," House said as he sat back down next to Lydia. She gave him a funny look. "Foreman," he said quietly.

"Bugs don't talk," Ben said.

"They do in the place where I work," House answered.

"Well, I see you've finished those donuts," Peggy Allen said as she returned to the office "Pat called; doctor said she's fine. I'll drive these guys back to her tonight."

"Thank you. I was afraid it was her gall bladder; she's had some issues with that in the past."

"No, everything's good there; but I'm afraid I'm going to have to break this up in a few minutes," Peggy said looking down at the kids.

"Aww, no…" they said together.

"Kids, you'll see me Friday," Lydia said.

"And we'll never have to come back here again?" Ben asked.

"I'm going to see what I can do about that; Mr. Kelly is trying to help me. Are you both sure that you would want that? That you would never want to see Daddy again?"

"He doesn't act like a dad; he hates us," Ben said.

"Now, Ben…"

"It's true…he said it." House cringed inwardly at hearing the boy so openly acknowledge their father's distaste for them.

"He's a poopy head," Elise said as she finished her apple juice with a loud slurping sound.

"Elise, that's not nice," her mother corrected.

"Neither is he," Ben interjected. Lydia closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked at the screen. Annie and Wilson had moved to the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.

"I'm going to do the very best that I can to make sure that you two are happy; that's all I want. I want us to be together and be happy and have each other to hug and snuggle and love. But sometimes things don't work out exactly the way you want at first, sometimes they don't work out at all." Lydia swallowed hard so she could get her words out without crying. "I'm very lucky in that I have people who care about me here." She took House's hand. "I have Aunt Annie and Dr. House and Aunt Annie's friend Dr. Wilson…"

"She has a boyfriend, too? Oh, great!" Ben obviously was not fond of the idea of the ladies both having men in their lives.

"Yeah, your mom and your aunt both have boyfriends," House said. "And we're really boring, too; we both like this thing called Gravedigger…"

"Gravedigger! You like Gravedigger?" Elise started jumping up and down. Ben was a little more skeptical.

"No way," he said waving his hand dismissively.

"Way," House said opening up his button down shirt and revealing a Gravedigger T-shirt underneath.

"Oh, snap," Ben said in wonderment.

"Yeah, so Dr. Wilson and I are kind of boring, but I think we can figure out some guy stuff to do." House was amused by the look of disbelief on the boy's face.

"Kids, we have to wrap this up now," Peggy said. "I'm sorry, Lydia. But, before we go, I have one piece of good news: we got Judge Stewart to hear and rule on our case; he is _the_ one we wanted."

"Wonderful! At least that's one plus for today." Lydia let out a big sigh; she was smiling broadly. "Let me just wrap this up with the kids. Now, I will see you around four o'clock on Friday at the airport. I'm going to call Pat and tell her to give you sandwiches and juice boxes instead of money, that way you won't be hungry. We'll stop on the way home from the airport and get something to eat."

"OK," both kids said.

"Good; now say goodbye to Dr. House."

"Bye," Ben said looking at the screen curiously; he was still trying to figure out whether he liked House or not.

"Bye, Ben." He wished Lydia hadn't given the kid the same name as his father.

"Bye, Dr. House," Elise said waving at the screen.

"Bye, Elise," House said returning her gesture with a short wave of his hand. She started to get off the desk chair, then stopped and leaned back into the screen.

"Dr. House? Could you do me a favor?"

"I'll try," said House, a little taken aback.

"I don't want my daddy to be my daddy anymore; I don't like it when he makes Mommy and us cry. Could you help my mommy so he never makes us sad again?" To the child, it was a simple request; to House the complexities of the situation were all too clear.

"I'll do whatever I can to help her; I promise," he simply said.

"Bye, kids…I love you!" Lydia said as she choked back tears. She blew a kiss at the screen.

"I caught it!" squealed Elise.

"Got it," Ben said playing along.

"I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you both, too," Lydia said. She pressed a button to end the call; the computer returned to her screensaver, a picture of the three of them together. Lydia leaned back against the couch, trying not to cry anymore; but the raw emotions brought on by her kids asking not to be subjected to their father in the future, broke her heart. Annie came over, sat next to her and took her hand as House put his arms around her. Wilson came over and stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do; he hoped his presence would be of some comfort. House rubbed his hands up and down Lydia's back and kissed her head. They seemed like good kids, although he had a feeling her son was going to be a tough nut to crack.

"Well," Lydia said as she reached for a tissue, "What do you think of your first encounter with my kids?" House gave her a look.

"I survived; just barely when it came to your son."

"What do you mean? He seemed to love your gross food humor," Wilson said. "And he was definitely impressed with your knowledge of the existence of Gravedigger."

"Everything was fine except for the existence of you and me in his aunt's and mother's lives; that's when we hit the potholes. We've stolen his girlfriends away from him," observed House. "He's about the right age to feel possessive of the opposite sex parent; he's also at the age where he'll start to grow out of it and want to have a stronger association with the same sex parent. Which it looks like it's going to be up to me to try and fill." Lydia shook her head.

"Greg, I'm not asking or expecting you to do that; please don't listen to what my ex-husband was saying. I didn't come back to New Jersey looking for someone to lean on; I came back here hoping I would find you and that you still wanted to be with me," Lydia said tearfully. House put his fingers under her chin.

"The only thing I listened to was what a wonderful mother you are and how much your kids adore you. Anything else that was said sounded like the teacher in the 'Charlie Brown' cartoons; completely meaningless." House stood up and picked up Lydia's coffee cup. "I wish I could say the same about Foreman's phone call."

"What's the matter?" Wilson asked.

"Nothing that can be defined; and that's the problem." House repeated what Foreman told him about the unusual results of the EEG and PET.

"There has to be a physical malformation somewhere; or the nature of the disturbances in the electrical impulses is so sporadic, that the tests can't get a proper read on them," Lydia said. She leaned forward and began to gingerly rub her leg; House took note and decided to move things along.

"Chase is setting up an MRI; he'll handle it until we get there, then he'll look at your leg." He grabbed his coffee cup and took his and Lydia's to the kitchen.

"So this could be a tumor?" Wilson asked.

"Possibly; there could also be a pinching or a mounding of tissue that became more stressed as he's grown," Lydia said as she thought. "A less likely cause would be an aneurysm; while they can develop over the course of time…"

"By now, it would have gone 'Pop!' goes the weasel," House said finishing Lydia's line of thinking.

"Basically, you still have all options on the table," Wilson noted.

"And lots more expensive tests we can run on a patient, taking up a room in ICU, who doesn't have insurance. It's enough to make your fiscally conservative blood boil," House said sarcastically. He handed Lydia the flame cane and Annie Lydia's pocketbook. He went to his bedroom to grab a jacket to put into his backpack.

"House, you got a seventy-two hour stay for him because he had three cardiac arrests in the span of a little over an hour; despite the fact that they were caused by an illegally obtained drug, Foreman and I overlooked it and let him stay."

"Gee, how kind of you Dr. Hippocratic Oath, to ignore the fact that the kid could have died. And with a family who doesn't give a rat's ass since they haven't bothered to stop by and berate him for being a supposed drug addict," House said, his voice becoming louder and more snarky.

"I'm not trying to hurt the boy; hell, I was there last night, I helped you with CPR on him, remember?" Wilson asked. "Yes, he has a cardiac issue and that has to be addressed and treated; anything more than that isn't necessarily life-threatening. I feel bad that he has a…judgmental, uncaring family. But the resources of the hospital have to be used for people who need to have inpatient services. Probing into his neurological problems has to stop. Once we figure out what's wrong with his heart, we can recommend him to one of our cardiologists and one of our neurologists. The seizures can be controlled with medication and…he'll have to learn to live with seeing pretty colors."

"Wait," Lydia said, her eyes darting about. "Did Scotty say what the colors looked like when you spoke to him last night?" she asked Wilson. "In relation to the letters and numbers?"

"Yeah, A is always red, two is always blue; something like that."

"I was waiting for him to say 'C is for Cookie,'" House noted. "What your point?"

"When Viagra is taken, some men experience a blue haze in front of their eyes. It's an effect that the DPE5 inhibitor in Viagra has on the retina. If Scotty wasn't saying that everything was blue…" Lydia spread her hands open.

"Then he may not have been given Viagra or any other wienny-starcher," House said.

"It is strange that his tox screen was clear," Wilson said.

"Not at all; tox screens don't look for Viagra since it's a legal drug. But he should have elevated levels of the DPE5," Lydia said. "Plus, if his girlfriend got the pills from some shady online place, they could be placebos or out and out candy." House took out his cell phone.

"I'm going to tell Thirteen to re-check the samples we took from him last night and look for the joystick helper," House said as he started tapping on his phone.

"Didn't you just take new samples from him this morning?" Wilson asked. "I would think the more recent the sample, the better."

"Viagra is out of the bloodstream in approximately eight hours; the ones we got last night would be closer to the time Rainbow Brite slipped him the stuff." Wilson shook his head.

"So, this would mean that the heart issue is not caused by the drug…"

"But by improper electro impulses coming from the brain," Lydia said. "Which makes his neurological issues life threatening." Wilson let out a long sigh and threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Now I know why House fell in love with you; he needs an extra ally against me while I try to run this screwed-up organization."

"I fell in love with her a long time before your ascension to the throne from hell." House held out his hands to Lydia and helped her stand up from the couch. He smiled as he pulled her in close; he didn't need Viagra or any other help when it came to Lydia. All she had to do was start talking about medicine and he was instantly enamored.

"Not that I understood even this much of what you were all just talking about," said Annie, holding her thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart, "But if he's not getting doped by his girlfriend with Viagra, then how is it that…he's at attention even when he shouldn't be?"

"He's twenty years old," House said. "He has a one track mind."

"You're a bit removed from twenty years old and you, too have a one track mind," Lydia said glancing quickly at House's crotch; she wouldn't have done it if her back wasn't to Wilson and Annie.

"And you never complain," he said with a smile, picking up on her look. "Come on, gimp; let's get you over to the hospital."

"I'm not a gimp; I'm a gimpette. I'm a girl," Lydia said with a toss of her head.

"I've noticed; right now, you're blocking me from getting my walking stick and opening the door." Lydia moved aside as House took his cane off its usual hook and slung his pack over his shoulder; the group moved into the outer hallway and House turned to lock his door. As he inserted the key, his cell phone indicated a text message as Wilson's pager went off.

"Damn!" House exclaimed as he looked at the message. "We've got to get over there."

"What happened?" Lydia asked as House quickly led her out of the building and down to his car; he was wishing he didn't park so far away last night. Like a trouper, Lydia walked as quickly as she could, keeping up with House's pace. When they got to the car, he opened the door but left Lydia to get herself into the car. Wilson and Annie had parked in House's spot as they had last night; they hurried to Wilson's car.

"The kid seized again; that means sometime in the next thirty seconds to a minute he's probably going to go into cardiac arrest." Lydia leaned back and closed her eyes. The pain in her leg was getting more and more intense; she was too caught up arguing with her ex and then enjoying talking to her kids to really even think about it. Now, however the throbbing was very much making its presence felt. She tried to think about Scotty instead. She needed something else to focus on and at least that would be something useful. Where do his problems lie? She knew all the parts of the brain and their functions; why couldn't she think of them now?

"Are you OK?" Lydia looked at House, a bit confused.

"What did you say?"

"I asked if you were alright; you're holding your head and mumbling something to yourself." He looked over at her. "Can you hold out just a little bit longer with your leg? I don't know which one of my team is going to be doing tests, doing treatment or what at this point. I don't like where this is headed." He put on his right indicator while he waited impatiently for the light.

"Brain surgery?" Lydia asked. House nodded. "My initial thought is the medulla oblongata is being interfered with in some way…"

"Why?" House asked. Lydia looked at him curiously. "I'm playing Professor Higgins here; you're Eliza Doolittle, a diamond in the rough. I'm putting pressure on you; I want to see where your thinking is going." Lydia was quiet for a moment.

"The medulla oblongata controls involuntary functions like heartbeats and heart rate, inspiration and respiration, digestive function, etc. So if the cardiac arrests keep occurring without the presence of heart disease or damage, you could look to a malfunction in that area."

"Except the kid didn't tell me about any problems breathing or pooping," House said. "Chase and I talked with him for about an hour."

"And most of that time, you probably talked about his issues with seeing colors and his worsening seizures. Simple questions like his overall general health were most likely discussed with Thirteen and Taub when they took a complete history," Lydia said. House smiled as he moved over to the left lane as they approached the hospital; he looked up to his rear view mirror and saw that Wilson was right behind them.

"You're making no assumptions and you haven't given up on chasing those zebras; I like the way you think." He reached over, picked up her hand and gave it a kiss.

"So I passed today's quiz?" she asked hesitantly.

"With flying colors; you might have even given me something I can roll past the team." House put on his left turn indicator and entered the hospital grounds. He followed the roadway around until he neared his spot near the front door.

"I'm going to have Annie bring you upstairs to ICU where Chase and the others will be; after I check in with them, we'll figure out what to do with you." Lydia nodded as House pulled into the parking space; he saw that Wilson had pulled into one of the reserved spots further down the row.

"I'll see you inside," House said as he opened the car door and grabbed his backpack and cane; he leaned over, gave Lydia a quick kiss and then got out of the car. He saw Annie and Wilson approaching. "Go get a wheelchair from inside the front door; if there isn't one there, tell the front desk Dr. Wilson said you need one ASAP," House said to Annie. She nodded, handed Lydia her bag and ran to the hospital entrance. House and Wilson followed after her; she almost crashed into them on the way back out with the wheelchair.

"Slow down, she's not in labor you know," House called after her.

"God forbid," Wilson muttered. The two quickly signed in and headed for the elevators.

"Hey, I think I did a pretty good job with her kids today," House said as Wilson pushed the button to call for the elevator car.

"Yeah, but you can, in essence, hand them back; unless her ex actually gives up his parental rights, you marry Lydia and adopt them. Since the forecast this morning didn't call for fire and brimstone falling from the sky, I don't really see that happening." The doors of the elevator opened and after letting several people exit, House and Wilson entered the car; Wilson pushed two to take them to ICU.

"That's the problem with you; you're not a visionary. You can't imagine the unlikely…" House began.

"Or the impossible," Wilson said cutting House off.

"The only thing that would make it impossible," he said as they left the elevator, "is the daunting task of getting her son to like us."

"Us?" questioned Wilson giving House a look.

"In case you haven't notice, Lydia and Annie are something of a package deal; if the son doesn't like one of us, the other one automatically becomes a pariah for associating with the first one. It's going to get complicated if both of us if we don't get him on our side."

"Any game plan yet?"

"I'm working on it; I usually don't bother paying attention to males below the age of twenty-one. I actually don't pay attention to males at all. But right now, I'm trying to dive into the brains of two of them at once; a more difficult task than I had anticipated." They arrived at Scotty's room; along with House team was a young woman looking very nervous and biting her bottom lip so hard, House thought it would bleed. He found it to be cute when Lydia did it; assuming this girl was the source of his patient's possible non-Viagra /Viagra, he found the gesture quite annoying.

"I see the tribe is in session," House said as he entered the room through the open door.

"I thought we were going to have to call out the seventh regiment, too," Foreman said. "I've seen seizures of all sorts, but not one that lasted so long and intensely. His girlfriend was in the room with him; the rest of us were right outside the door deciding who was going to handle which of the tests. She screamed his name, we rushed in, but he had already hit the floor. Pulled over the IV poles, sent the bed table and nightstand flying; but when it was over, he was like a rag doll. We got him back in bed and checked him over; he seems alright."

"Except he's far from alright," House said grimly as he looked around the room. He noticed that Annie had brought Lydia in her wheelchair up to ICU; she had placed the chair right by the open door.

"I wanted to observe," Lydia said. House curtly nodded.

"You picked a good time to play fly on the wall; mysteries will be revealed." He moved over near the young woman. "I take it you're the drip that's dating my patient."

"I'm Misty," she said defensively. "I'm Scotty's…"

"You're either an idiot or potentially a murderer," House said accusingly.

"What? No, I love Scotty…"

"Well then, that leaves us with the choice of idiot." House removed her pocketbook from her shoulder and dumped the contents on the end of Scotty's bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Misty complained.

"Looking…" House said as he rummaged through the contents, "…for this." He held up an amber colored standard pill bottle; several pills could be seen inside. There was no label on the bottle indicating the contents or who they were prescribed for; Misty fidgeted nervously as House held the bottle up for all to see.

"That's private property; you can't…"

"It's potentially evidence; and yes I can." He popped open the top and sniffed the pills; he nodded his head as he looked at the others. "Just as was suspected." House walked over to Lydia and let her smell the bottle; she looked puzzled at first.

"May I see the actual pills?" she said holding out her hand. House poured some of the pills out into her hand; she looked at one closely for a moment, then popped it in her mouth.

"Don't! No!" exclaimed several of the team.

"Women should not take that," Chase said.

"Funny," Lydia said. "I've never known a woman who's allergic to Super Berry Blast." Everyone looked confused. "They're Sprees; it's a candy my kids love," she said as she continued to hold the treat in her mouth. "You let them melt like any other hard candy."

"Or you can chew them if you plan on making your folks pay for extensive dental work when you get older," House noted. He took the "pills" from Lydia, returned them to the bottle and handed it back to Misty who stood there stunned.

"They…they're candy?" she asked as she gathered up the contents of her purse that House had spilled on the bed. "I paid a whole week's salary plus tips for that bottle. They guaranteed it would work and it did; Scotty's been much more…interested in me lately. He even noticed the outfit I got from Victoria's Secret the other day."

"Maybe he's paying attention to you because you're paying more attention to things," Lydia offered. Misty looked puzzled. "Even if that was Viagra, it doesn't work without stimulation, either physical, mental, emotional or a combination. Perhaps Scotty felt you were paying more attention to him in some area of his life other than the bedroom and he was responding to that." Misty nodded.

"I had been encouraging him lately to try and find another doctor, one who could help him with these seizures."

"Was the heart problems he had last night the first time that's happened?" asked Thirteen.

"Yeah, he's never experienced anything like that before; I would have forced him to the doctor a lot sooner. I've known Scotty since I was fourteen; I always had a crush on him and we eventually wound up dating and falling in love. I would never do anything to hurt him."

"Well, I don't mean to interfere," Lydia said. "But next time, I would spend some more time being truthful with him rather than spending your money on little blue pills."

"Or spend your money on more outfits from VS," House said. He looked her up and down. "Really little outfits." He rapped his cane on the floor. "I declare this tribal council over; you can stay," House said pointing at Misty. "My team, come outside." Taub, Thirteen, Chase and Foreman followed House out of the room as did Wilson.

"So his heart problems are coming from his brain," Taub noted.

"She already came up with that on the car ride here," House said indicating Lydia. "The question is how is it connecting to the occipital lobe which is where Synesthesia usually originates from?"

"I thought you didn't handle case cases that are 'usual?'" asked Foreman.

"You should be thanking me; we don't have to rerun labs to check for the pole preservative now that missy here," he said indicating Lydia, "gave us the idea that the pills were fake and helped us prove it." Lydia was sitting with her arms folded; she gave House a glaring look.

"'Really little outfits?'" she questioned. Everyone smiled at the thought that House had been snagged.

"Oh, please; when that girl lays down flat, she lays down f-l-a-t. She doesn't have a real woman's figure," he said smiling at Lydia. House looked into the patient's room.

"So, the kid didn't go into cardiac arrest this time?"

"No, and the last seizure he had last night, when the EMT was here, didn't give him one either," Chase said. House was reviewing the events in his mind, when Misty came out of the room.

"He looks like he's having trouble breathing," she said.

"Three, two, one," House counted as his team rushed into the room. He pointed at the room and made the gesture of pulling a trigger on a gun.

"He's coding!" Taub called out.

"What does that mean?" Annie asked looking at Wilson.

"Cardiac arrest."


	9. Chapter 9

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Nine – "Look Both Ways Before Crossing"

By: purpleu

House sat at his desk in his office with his face buried in his hands; he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to refresh them after staring at the computer screen for so long. He refocused on the image that was before him, and silently reprimanded himself; he knew he shouldn't be looking at the beauty that was before him. Cherry red with a rebuilt top and ready to make you feel good…but not the kind of car you'd show up at a kid's soccer match with. Not unless you want to be the envy of every guy when all the ladies come by to admire your…wheels. House sighed as he clicked to close the page that had vintage cars for sale; the Ford Galaxy would have to wait for another time. Although he could somehow see Ben, Lydia's son appreciating the coolness of the ride.

Looking over to his right, House saw Lydia was still sleeping on his lounge chair. He continued to kick himself over what happened with her leg. After stabilizing Scotty, he regained consciousness and House ordered an echocardiogram with Doppler to see how well the kid's heart was pumping; the question now was had the heart attacks caused any damage and therefore triggered the continuing cardiac arrests? Or was there damage in there already and it was sending the wrong signal to the brain making it an electro-cardio issue? And where did the Synesthesia fit in to all of this? The MRI machine was down for the count since yesterday; a technician came in the morning and made the repair, but there was a back log of patients that had to go first. Scotty could wait for now as they examined the cardio aspects of his case. So while Thirteen and Taub did the echocardiogram on the kid, Chase and House took Lydia to the clinic and snagged one of the exam rooms. After looking at her leg, Chase felt that something was left in there and removed the stitches to re-examine the wound.

"AHHH! OWW!" House could still hear the sound of Lydia crying out as Chase probed the raw tissue; they had numbed the area and House had insisted on her taking two more Tylenol with codeine since she had taken only half a pill earlier. The medicine was for his benefit as well as hers; it bothered the hell out of him to see her in pain. The infection was quite built up inside and Chase re-opening the wound had relieved some pressure, but something still wasn't right; then House spotted it: a thin sliver of clear glass that had started to embed itself into the lower part of the calf muscle. Both men were pissed at themselves; they had concentrated mainly on looking for amber pieces of glass, knowing that it was beer bottles that shattered. But Scotty had been busing tables and was carrying a bin of various glasses and dishes; it must have been one of the drinking glasses that shattered, lodged in Lydia's leg and was left undetected.

After cleaning the wound more thoroughly this time and re-stitching it, House brought Lydia up to his office and hooked her up to an IV antibiotic; she didn't feel a thing as the codeine had made her quite sleepy. House and Chase started the Floxin at a slow rate so it wouldn't hurt or infiltrate; they found that Lydia had small veins and they had trouble starting the IV. Now the hookup was set and the medicine flowed into her as she slept.

He took it upon himself to look online for a suitable car for Lydia and the kids. She had planned on making that her project for this afternoon; they were then going to look at cars tonight, but obviously, that wasn't going to happen. House had allowed himself to become distracted by the vintage car listings, but now he went to the more mundane mini-van/SUV listings where instead of the number of RPM's, the most important factor was the number of cup holders. He started looking at new first; they did have some excellent deals, but the best ones were offered as leases and Lydia wanted to just own the car outright. With two kids, and who knows how many others she'd be carrying to soccer games and such, she didn't want to have to worry about every ding and spill. A used car… "previously owned" thought House rolling his eyes…was probably her best bet. Even after finding out about Lydia's financial situation earlier, knowing that it was within her means to get the car for herself, House still wanted to buy the car for her and the kids; at the very least, contribute to the purchase. House let out a long sigh as he looked away from the screen and over at his desk. Where the hell was this benevolent attitude coming from? He never felt like taking care of someone like this before; quite the opposite. He was usually trying to finagle things out of others. Why was he so intent on making Lydia happy? Because, you moron, House said to himself, you care about her happiness more than your own; and that was a first. Maybe, he thought, he was trying to make up for all the missed opportunities in his life.

House stood up and went into the conference room to get some more coffee; Chase had gone to pick up some Chinese food. They were going to be there for a while and he thought it best to have food waiting when the troops re-gathered; he also wanted Lydia to have something to eat since she had the antibiotic going into her. Plus, he was hungry, too. House was just at the doorway between his office and the conference room, when the team came down the hallway.

"What's the verdict?" he asked as they entered the conference room.

"It looks like there is a decline in the ejection fraction," Taub said.

"I'm not talking about the patient," House said with annoyance. He grabbed one of the take-out bags from Chase. "Did they have the batter to make the scallion pancakes? When I stopped in there last week, I raved to Lydia about how good those things were and then they ran out of the batter and claimed it was too close to closing to make a new batch. I don't want to lose my hipster factor with my girlfriend by disappointing her again."

"Yes, they had the scallion pancakes; in fact I complained on your behalf over the fact they didn't have them the last time you were in, and we got a free order," said Chase.

"We? You mean me," House said as he removed one of the cardboard boxes containing the pancakes from the bag.

"Be nice and share," a voice from his office said. House smiled and turned to look at the very sleepy Lydia rubbing her forehead.

"Yes, mother," House said as he started to walk into his office. "How bad is the EF?" House asked Taub over his shoulder.

"Right ventricle is normal, sixty-eight percent; left ventricle is fifty-nine percent," Taub said.

"Not that low, but below the normal parameters especially for a twenty-year old," Lydia said in a very groggy tone. Thirteen and Chase had come to the door just in time to hear her comment.

"Could you not pretend to be a doctor when you're all drugged up? Even though it worked out well around here for years, it seems the department prefers their doctors on the straight and narrow. Which, for the record, like your pain-dealing, medicine-taking predecessor, you are one hundred percent correct." House turned to see his team giving him various levels of "give me a break" stares. "Tell me one thing I said that wasn't true." Unable to counter House's challenge, Thirteen focused instead on the fact that Lydia was indeed, right.

"So how do we proceed? Clearly there's something going on with his heart, but which way does the fault lay? Do we go in for a cardiac catheterization? Or do we do the MRI and see what's going on in his brain?"

"The MRI is far less invasive and will reveal more information about various areas of the body; the cath is very specific," Lydia said leaning back with her eyes closed. "And I'm sure Dr. Foreman and James would rather not take the chance of ruining the reputation of the hospital by needlessly endangering a patient."

"Spoken like a true administrator," Wilson said laughing. He and Foreman had entered House's office through the door that faced the hallway; Wilson hadn't planned on going into work that day, but got drawn into things after stopping at his office. He was still wearing the polo shirt and khakis that he had on when he showed up at House's place this morning.

"I'm sorry," Lydia said. "I think the medicine is making me more loquacious than usual."

"It's making you sound like Webster's third edition dictionary; it's also making you sound right."

"Why thank you, Dr. House," she said with a half-smile.

"Ok, we have to lay down some ground rules if you're going to be helping us," Chase said to Lydia. "Nobody around here is doctor; everyone calls each other by their last name, except her," he said pointing at Thirteen. "You can call them 'Greg' and 'James' when it is a non-professional discussion; other than that, it's House and Wilson," Chase said with a smile.

"She'll never be able to do it," Taub said as he munched on an egg roll. "It's not in her nature."

"Really, Taub?" Lydia asked teasingly.

"Oh, snap," House said as he bit into a scallion pancake.

"So…Strohman," Wilson said trying to join in on the joke, "What were you telling House about the idea of an MRI on your patient?" Lydia boosted herself up into a more upright position. House walked over and handed her the iced tea he had ordered for her.

"It would make more sense to do an MRI rather than the cardiac cath; the neurological issues have been present since early childhood and the idea of the brain sending incorrect impulses to the heart is certainly not unheard of. If the electro misfiring is contained strictly within the heart, a cath wouldn't show that; you'd need an electrocardiologist to do a series of tests that are also semi-invasive," she said sipping her tea.

"But the patient's not showing any signs of atrial fibrillation or any other rhythmic interruptions that are normally associated with neurological misfirings." Foreman said.

"Well, the heart rate doesn't have to be consistently slow or fast," Thirteen noted. "It can happen very suddenly and spontaneously."

"Which is why a patient can be surrounded by doctors and still die of cardiac arrest; it's like the engine seizing on a car," said Lydia.

"How do you want to go with it?" Chase asked House. He pondered the situation for a moment, playing with his over-sized tennis ball while he did.

"Let's do the MRI of his head and make sure nothing is in there playing squatter; and let's do it sooner rather than later. That way…"

"You can't. The machine being unavailable for a day has put a kink in the status of waiting patients; we're still playing catch up from yesterday," said Foreman. House looked both disgusted and annoyed.

"The machine being unavailable is going to put a kink in the status of my patient being classified as living if we don't get him in there. We need to see what's going on inside the kid."

"House, we had two people get pushed ahead of everyone else because of head trauma they suffered in a car accident. One is a nine year old kid, the other is his mother. Cases have to be prioritized and your patient isn't at the top of the list."

"Our patient," House corrected, looking away from Foreman. After a second, House nodded.

"Put Scotty next in line after the crash dummies; keep your fingers and toes crossed that he doesn't have another attack while we're busy waiting."

"I'll notify them down at the MRI as to what's happening; they can page you when it's Scotty's turn." Foreman took out his cell phone and sent a text out for the team. "By the way, Lydia, how are you feeling?" he said nodding in the direction of her leg.

"I can barely feel the part of my leg that has the wound and my head feels like a cashmere sweater: soft and fuzzy." Foreman laughed.

"You wouldn't know it from the way you're analyzing how to proceed with the case. Oh," he said looking at Wilson, "I'm forgetting the whole reason we came up here; why don't you tell her."

"Foreman and I worked out our concerns with the proposal developed by medical records; we spoke to them, billing and legal. You talked to some of the personnel down there about your background?"

"Last week when we were waiting around for everything to happen with Hunter," Lydia said. "I was just making small talk with various people and someone asked me if I had had any medical experience."

"Well, it seems small talk is leading to bigger things," Wilson said with a smile. "We are not only all in agreement with the structure and responsibilities of the new position, we've agreed that we are going to present your name as the candidate for the job to the board on Thursday; as long as you still are interested and have a resume that we can submit." Lydia sat there, wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open.

"You're…you're serious?" she asked in disbelief.

"After the morning you had, I would not joke around about something like this," Wilson said gently. Lydia looked at each person in the room ending with House; she was too dumbfounded to know what to say.

"Why are you staring at me? Answer the man, Strohman," House said with a smile he couldn't hide no matter how hard he tried.

"Hey, don't rush me, House," Lydia said pointing a finger at him playfully.

"Oh and she is a player," Taub said with a smile.

"And she knocked you out of the game at the beginning of the conversation," House said shooting Taub down with a look. Lydia laughed and then looked at Wilson and Foreman.

"Can I have tonight to re-work my resume so it has the medical aspects of it emphasized rather than the educational work I've done?"

"As long as we can go over it early on Thursday morning, that will be fine. I'll have a better idea by tomorrow if you should be here for the board meeting or not," Foreman said. Lydia let out a big sigh, swung her feet down and attempted to stand up; thankfully, House and Wilson were close by.

"Easy, Fraulein. You're still hooked to the IV and not yet ready to start tap dancing around; let people come to you," House said as he held her up on her right side. Wilson gave her a quick hug; then Foreman stepped forward and did the same.

"We still have a ways to go, but you're clearing the hurdles nicely so far," Foreman said. Lydia's excitement was contagious; first Thirteen stepped forward to give her a hug, followed by Taub and Chase.

"We're so happy for you," Thirteen said. "You deserve a break."

"Thank you; I really appreciate all the support," Lydia said.

"How come I'm the one who gets short-changed a hug around here? What's wrong with this picture?" House asked. Lydia laughed and gave House a quick hug; she didn't want to let herself get carried away.

"We didn't do anything; neither did he," Wilson said pointing to House. "This is all you and the impression you leave on people; so…ignore what the man on the laptop screen said this morning." Lydia buried her head into House's shoulder and hugged him tighter than she had before.

"I could ignore it a lot more easily if it didn't involve the children," Lydia said.

"What the hell did your ex-husband say exactly, if you don't mind me asking," Thirteen said. "Foreman had simply said that he was a complete ass and that was the nicest thing he could think to say." Lydia shook her head.

"If only he were just an ass; he's a vindictive bastard."

"And you've given him nothing to be vindictive about," House said. "Come on; sit down before you start talking about all of this." He gave Lydia a quick kiss on the side of her head and helped her back onto the lounger.

"I've never done anything except marry him, have two children with him and divorce him; I guess that's a crime somehow." Lydia related her ex's demand from the call earlier in the day and while she could pay him the money, he didn't have any right to that kind of an amount.

"That mother…" Chase said after she had finished.

"And he did this while holding the kids onscreen, right in front of you?" Taub asked. "That scumbag…"

"He's lucky he's not here right now; I'd make sure he was eligible for permanent membership in the Vienna Boys' Choir." Thirteen said.

"Annie said the other night that he had always been…a little odd, always hostile; but that it got worse after his twin died," Wilson said. House's head snapped around in Wilson's direction. "I don't think that's any kind of an excuse, though."

"What twin?" he asked looking back and forth between Lydia and Wilson.

"Ben had a twin sister who passed away from cancer," Lydia said.

"Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It was already stage four by the time it was diagnosed," interjected Wilson.

"I don't remember you or Annie ever mentioning this before; and how come you know?" House asked Wilson, feeling a bit on the outside looking in.

"When we were at Otto's the other night after we left you and Lydia, Annie and I were picking songs from the jukebox; she got kind of quiet and sad; I asked her what was wrong and she told me about her sister; one of the songs reminded her of Ben's twin."

"I knew about her because Annie told me after we met; when I tried to ask Ben about it, he went crazy and forbid me to discuss the subject," Lydia said.

"She who must not be named," commented House.

"They were extremely close," continued Lydia, "to the point of almost excluding Annie from things; then after his twin died, he became closer to Annie. I came into the picture about two years after her sister's death and Annie and I became close; I'm four years older than her, just like her sister was. So with me, she found the closeness she never had before," Lydia said; she paused to take a sip of her iced tea. "We included Ben in things we did and places we went, but he just withdrew from everyone and everything, and started fighting horribly with his parents. I never knew the nature of the arguments, but that's when they threw him out. I had no contact with him until Annie was attacked; we met again and wound up getting married."

"Annie always wished she had been closer to her sister; but it was like she and your ex had their own little closed clique," Wilson said to Lydia. She nodded her head in confirmation. House was sitting on the edge of the lounge chair; he had that look in his eyes that indicated he was processing the information he just heard.

"What was the twin's name?" he asked.

"Linda." House turned and looked at Lydia intently.

"Linda what? What was her middle name?

"Marie, same as mine; Annie and I used to talk about that all the time. My name began with an 'L' just like her sister…"

"And ended with an _A_" House noted. He stood up and wandered slowly over to his desk; House seemed to be silently staring off at nothing, but his mind was whirling around a multitude of thoughts. He considered the unique coincidence that the situation with Annie's family presented; it could easily be dismissed and yet...

"Earth to House," Wilson called out. "Are you still with us?"

"Yeah," House said snapping out of the haze he had put himself into.

"Greg, is something wrong?" Lydia asked. House looked at her. There was a lot he wanted to say; but until he had the chance to sort through the possibilities rambling though his head, he felt it was best to say nothing.

"Not enough coffee for the day," he said pushing off from his desk. "But at this point, it is not the best accompaniment to scallion pancakes and shrimp egg foo young, so I will have to find other things to keep me awake," House said smiling at Lydia.

"Hey, is there enough of that food to share?" Foreman asked looking in at the bags on the conference room table.

"Depends; are you currently playing understudy for the vegged out administrator or are you playing the part of the fourth Musketeer, Dark-tangian?" House asked. Foreman gave him a look.

"I'm always a part of this team no matter what other mask I'm forced to wear," he said, smiling at Thirteen as he passed by to investigate the food.

"House basically picked two from column 'A' and three from column 'B' and then some," Chase said. "He said he wanted to make sure there was enough for everyone." Foreman, Thirteen, Taub and Wilson looked at House with surprise; Lydia sat there grinning broadly.

"It's going to be a long night; the last thing I need is a bunch of cranky, whinny wimps on my hands." House had to catch himself at the last minute. He almost used the word "wuss" instead of "wimp". "Wuss" is what Lydia's ex had called her earlier in the day. House did not want to go down that road. Watching the troops dive into the food, he sat down on the lounge chair with Lydia.

"What can I get you, before the savages raid the till?" House asked taking her hand. Lydia leaned forward and planted a big kiss on House. He eagerly returned the gesture, although he was somewhat taken aback; he wasn't quite used to being so openly affectionate with her in front of the team. At least not to the point of swapping spit.

"I'm definitely not complaining, but what was that for?" he asked quietly.

"For being a sweetheart and treating your team to something to eat. I have a feeling it's not an event that happens on a regular basis; and this time you couldn't charge it to your department's budget," she said referring to the food he ordered for the team from the cafeteria last week.

"I'm still waiting for Chef Yuck-Ar-Dee to come crying to Wilson that I didn't sign the charge slip correctly." Lydia laughed.

"Well, since you paid for this spread, I will happily grab some grub; did you get sweet and sour chicken?"

"Yup; and a double order of shrimp egg foo young along with extra scallion pancakes to boot." Lydia licked her lips.

"It all sounds good; I'll take a little bit of everything." House smiled; he was happy to see she had an appetite.

"A smorgasbord coming up," he said starting to stand up. "Oh, and if you lick your lips like that again, you're getting an egg roll, bad leg or not." He gave her a kiss, stood up and headed into the conference room.

"Lydia's going to eat?" Wilson asked as House joined the others at the table; they had all sat down in various seats, munching away at their food.

"Yeah, if you people left anything," he said looking over the containers, some of which were empty.

"House, you got more than enough food; thank you," Thirteen said. He gave her a quick glance and nodded.

"I'm sure he'll be passing around the hat later to take contributions toward the feast," Foreman said, shooting House a look.

"Actually, no," House said as he dished out food for himself and Lydia onto the plastic plates someone brought out. "The fact that I paid for this little spread is earning me brownie points with my girlfriend; that is always a good thing." He placed two scallion pancakes on each of the plates and turned to head back into his office.

"House, you do realize how damned lucky you are," said Chase looking in at Lydia. "And not just because she puts up with you," he added. House closed his eyes and smiled.

"I've realized it many times over already," he said. "Hopefully, there will be many more times in the future." He went into his office and handed Lydia the plates. He then brought his chair out from behind his desk, placed it near the lounge chair and sat down to eat with Lydia.

"Did you see that?" Thirteen asked. "House just walked from his office to the table and back without his cane." Wilson glanced at House and Lydia and smiled.

"I've noticed that he's been trying more to move without his cane if he's comfortable with his surroundings…and if Lydia is around."

"Do you really think he can pull it off?" Taub asked, directing his question mainly at Wilson. "Can he really make a relationship last? Or is this just going to be House's version of a relationship?" Wilson shook his head.

"Lydia would not put up with House's version of a relationship; then again, I think House's version of a relationship has changed. Even though he always resisted having that word exist in his world…I think he's come to realize that change is not such a bad thing."

"You three," Thirteen said, pointing to Chase, Foreman and Wilson, "all knew House when he was with Stacy, correct?" The three men nodded. "Was he like this with her? I mean, still House, for sure, but also very…nice? Very loving and attentive?" The three looked at each other.

"If he was, he and Stacy might have been able to work past the problems that came up with his leg," Wilson said. "But House knew he couldn't give her what she needed; that's why he pushed her away."

"It's one of the things that's just added to his misery over the years," Chase said. "He'll always kick himself over losing Stacy, I think…"

"But now that he has Lydia," Foreman said, "He's not kicking himself nearly as hard. That lady has worked a miracle."

"He'll never stop being _House_, though," Taub said. "Like Lady Gaga, I think he was born that way."

"Born that way or not, crazy and infuriating or not…" Thirteen looked over into House's office. "…at this point, I don't think I could get used to him being any other way."

"A little nicer once in a while isn't so bad," Taub said indicating the food spread out before them.

"True," Thirteen said laughing, "This is kind of cool." She looked over at House's office again and saw him and Lydia playfully tossing napkins at each other; she was glad he was so happy…

"You're right," Lydia said. "These scallion pancakes are wonderful. You don't need any sauce for them at all."

"A lot of people use soy sauce with them; I say why ruin a good thing?" House took a bite of a crabmeat wonton he had grabbed. "Did I get you one of these?"

"Yes, it's gone already." House smiled.

"Boy, you're really shoveling it in…good. You need it with the antibiotic."

"Which one did you give me, Ampicillin?"

"I wanted to give you that," House said standing up and retrieving some napkins from his desk; he handed Lydia a few. "But you couldn't tell us if you were allergic to Penicillin or not. Codeine is your ticket to the Magical Mystery Tour." As he sat back down, House stretched out his legs.

"You gave me two of them on top of the half I took earlier; what did you think I'd be like?"

"Well, I didn't expect you to answer the question in German; at least not to Chase." Lydia gave him a look.

"I did not."

"You did, too. I left the clinic to get a wheelchair," he said pointing to the one folded up in the conference room. "Chase asked if you were allergic to anything and you started babbling in your mother tongue."

"You would have understood what I was saying when you returned."

"I did eventually get out of you that you weren't allergic to anything; but when I got back, I could have had my way with you and you never would have known it. In fact it was a very tempting thought…" House said standing up and heading for the door between the two rooms.

"You…" Lydia said as she threw a balled up napkin at House,

"Hey," House said as he ducked. "What was that for?" He picked up the napkin and threw it back at her. She batted it away as she laughed.

"That was for having a one track mind," she said.

"And you know how I love to jump the tracks," he said with a wicked grin. "I'm going to see if any extra beverages found their way here with the food; do you need anything?"

"No, thanks. I've got plenty of food and iced tea left."

"Hey, House?" He turned and saw Foreman with his cell phone up to his ear. "Did you give the main desk instructions that your patient was to have no visitors?"

"The kid felt the only ones who would be showing up besides his girlfriend would be his parents, maybe the uncle; he didn't want to deal with them."

"Scotty said it in front of both of us; I asked him specifically if he wanted me to ban his family and he said yes. So I put the order in at the desk," Chase said.

"There's a guy in the lobby who asked to see the kid; when he was told he couldn't, he asked for you, House," Foreman said. House looked down at the floor, puzzled. "He said his name was…"

"Slick," House said completing Foreman's sentence.

"Yeah; who…?"

"EMT who helped keep Scotty alive last night; have him come up," House said as he rummaged through the bags looking for a drink; he found a bottle of ginger ale. Not his favorite without some Jack Daniels to keep Ginger company, but he was thirsty enough to take it.

"House, we can't have someone just randomly roaming the halls," Wilson said.

"Why not? The patients and their families do it all the time," House replied taking a drink of soda; he cringed. It would taste much better with the Jack.

"We can't have him just wandering in the offices up here," Foreman said firmly.

"I'll go down, sign him in and bring him up," Chase said. "We met last night." He rose from his chair, threw away his empty plate and headed out of the conference room to retrieve Slick.

"This guy used to be a doctor…" House began.

"Used to?" Foreman asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"…Until he had a run-in with Malcolm Hunter that ended badly."

"He actually lost his medical license?" Taub asked. "Ouch."

"Don't know if he lost it, surrendered it, or just walked away; didn't ask too many questions. He knew what he was doing, knew how to make a quick, correct call to benefit the patient…he seemed decent. He helped Lydia get into the ER, right Fraulein?" House said as he walked back to his office.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear the conversation; I was talking to Annie," she said.

"She just texted me that she finished restringing her cello," Wilson said with a smile.

"Yes and she went upstairs and used my piano to tune it," Lydia said proudly. She looked at House. "What did you say, Hon?"

"I said your favorite EMT is coming in for a visit."

"The one that helped me last night? Slick, I think, was his nickname?" Lydia asked.

"Yep; he tried to get in to see my patient, but I don't know if the kid really feels like being a social butterfly right now. Chase went down to get him and bring him up here." House opened up the wheelchair that had been stored in the conference room and brought it into his office. "You've gotten most of the Floxin in to you, so I think we can unhook you for now," House said. He pulled the needle from the IV port in her arm and shut down the infusion unit. "I figure you want to move around a little since you've been in a prone position for most of the day."

"I'd like to try and stand and walk on it a little; test it out, if you will."

"No reason why you can't." House moved the wheelchair back a bit to give her room to move.

"Need a hand?" Wilson asked.

"Depending on how well Fraulein does, you may just need to spot her. Here," House said, handing Wilson his cane. "Let her hold on to that."

"Greg, what are you going to use?" protested Lydia.

"I'm comfortable enough in my office, I can walk without it; I'd rather you be steady." Lydia pushed off the lounge chair while gripping the cane; she stayed still for a minute to make sure she had her balance. She took a few tentative steps, smiling more and more with each one she took, as did House.

"How's it feel?" he asked.

"It hurts a little, but not like before," she said happily.

"Get that damn glass and the infection out, and it takes the edge off pretty quickly," House noted.

"Hey, look who's up and moving," House and Lydia both turned to see Slick coming through the doorway of the conference room. "You didn't have to spend the night here, did you?"

"No, but she had to come back in because her idiotic doctor/boyfriend didn't clean the wound out right last night," House said regrettably.

"I think I want to sit now," Lydia said. Wilson moved the wheelchair closer to her and held it as she sat.

"You had more than a little help with being lapse in spotting the glass last night," Chase said. "I was there, too; I'm just as guilty."

"Nope," Slick said. "She's his girlfriend; he carries far more blame than you do. Only in his own mind, of course; no one else blames him. Not even her."

"You sound like you have some experience in that area," House said.

"More than I'd care to talk about." Wilson stepped forward.

"We spoke several times last night, but we never had the chance to introduce ourselves; Dr. James Wilson, Oncology."

"And temporary co-head honcho with…" House gestured to Foreman.

"Dr. Eric Foreman; I'm a member of Dr. House's diagnostics team and, as he said, temporary co-Dean of Medicine with Dr. Wilson." Each of the team members introduced themselves; Slick did likewise.

"So, are you feeling better with it now…Laura…is it?" Slick asked.

"Lydia. Much better, thank you; I don't think I'll be needing this," she said handing House's cane back to him.

"I'll keep it around just in case one of us does," House said taking it back. "Sorry you had a roadblock thrown up on your way to see the kid; he was so intent on not presenting a 'Father Knows Best' façade, that we instructed the front desk to stop all visitors. As long as our patient clears it, we'll give you an all-access pass."

"I'd like that," Slick said as he put his head down, "I'm not so sure Scotty would like it." The team, Wilson and Lydia looked at each other; House looked away from everyone in the room.

"I thought when you asked if you could stop by and check on the kid, that there was something more to it than just going above and beyond the call of duty." He eyed the large manila folder that Slick was holding. "I see you come bearing gifts."

"Scotty's medical records from birth to his last doctor's visit under his parents' health insurance." The team began to murmur amongst themselves. "I dug it out of the trash after his parents threw it away; I had a feeling he was going to need it someday."

"Other than the Synesthesia, do you know what Scotty's other health problems are?" asked Lydia. Slick shook his head.

"The worsening seizures are as much a mystery to me as I'm sure they are to you; the heart attacks have me completely floored. It's the old story of the kid's an athlete, in perfect health…"

"Except for everything that's wrong with him," House said wryly, echoing a familiar theme going through the conference room that day.

"Let's clean off the table and sit down and talk," Chase said.

"Would you like something to eat?" Thirteen offered. "There's not much left…"

"Did you vultures glom down all of my food?" House asked in mock amazement. "There was enough there to feed a dozen third world countries with leftovers."

"Well, now we have enough energy to save one very sick young man," Taub countered. Thirteen shook her head at the conversation.

"Anything?" she asked again.

"No, thank you," said Slick.

"Thirteen, I can put that away and listen at the same time," Lydia said standing up. With the exception of Slick, everyone smiled at Lydia calling Thirteen by the same name that they all did; he just looked confused.

"You shouldn't push it trying to stand on that too much," House said.

"I'm not going to; and you're going to give me this," she said taking House's cane, "and you're going to sit."

"I think better when I pace," House said eyeing her warily.

"Fine; when you want to pace, I'll give it right back to you." Lydia made sure the wheels of the chair were locked and pushed herself up into a standing position. She made her way easily over to the counter where Thirteen and Chase had moved the food. As the others sat down to talk with Slick, Lydia condensed down the leftovers; they left a chair down near the counter open for her to sit in when she was done.

"So, what is your official title in my patient's life," inquired House.

"Uncle; Pete, his father and Joe, the bar owner, are my brothers. They are also jerks. When Scotty's brother became ill, Scotty got pushed to the side. I stepped in and sort of protected him from feeling completely rejected. I didn't have any kids myself, and I just saw something special in him. I was the first person he told about the Synesthesia. I tried to talk to his parents about the situation, but they were so obsessed with the older kid's problems, that they dismissed all his symptoms as a cry for attention. Then after Adam OD'd, Scotty's ailment sounded like a drug problem. Being a minor, he had to go to the doctors his parents chose; they always managed to convince the doctors that he was nothing more than a drug addict."

"Didn't his tox screens come up clean?" asked Chase.

"The doctors Cindy and Pete took him to didn't bother; they would just buy into what Scotty's folks said. They ran nothing but metabolic panels. The idiots didn't even do any MRIs."

"In other words, how many medical morons does it take to ruin a person's life?" asked House.

"Three," answered Slick. "The first two fell in line with what Cindy and Pete were saying. The last one seemed to not go along with the druggie theory, but as soon as he showed any resistance to their way of thinking, they dropped him. Scotty tried to go back to the last doctor about his problem, but with no insurance, I'm sure you can imagine what the doc's reaction was."

"Who's this guy Hippocrates, and why is he swearing at me?" quipped House.

"Well, I'll give this guy one thing; at least he did a CAT scan on him." Slick handed one of the manila envelopes he had to House. "Those are the films of the scans; they did the frontal and occipital lobes. This has his medical records through age seventeen," he said handing another envelope to Chase. "Anything after that were free clinics that Scotty tried to get help from; he would either have those records himself, or the clinic has them."

"Scotty gave us the names of several clinics to contact for information; unfortunately, we haven't heard back from any of them yet," said Taub.

"Nobody wants to claim credit for being involved in the game of hot potato that everyone's playing with my patient," noted House as he held up one of the films from the CAT scan done on Scotty. Foreman picked up another and began to look it over.

"Have you taken a look at these?" House asked Slick.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not bias your opinion with my thoughts."

"You're assuming my opinion isn't biased to start with," said House.

"Nothing remarkable on the occipital view," noted Foreman.

"Someone got a flashlight?" House asked. He pushed his chair back and started to stand.

"I do," Slick said as he rose to join House; he pulled a Mag light from his pocket. House did a double take as Slick held the light out to him. "Standard issue for an EMT," he explained.

"So is a stethoscope for a doctor, but you won't find me whipping one out at the drop of a hat." House turned and looked at Lydia. "Give that back to its rightful owner," he said, indicating his cane. Lydia walked it over to House who was holding the film he had up to the overhead light. He took his cane from Lydia. "Stand opposite me and shine your standard issue at the film. Hold that side up," House directed Lydia as the film kept flopping over. She grasped the edge of the acetate as Slick brought the light around the back. House and Lydia studied the image for a few moments, then pointed to the same spot on the film.

"There," they said together. They were pointing to a darkened area in the lower right quadrant of the image. The rest of the team got up from the table and came to look at what House and Lydia were seeing. The spot was in the shape of a puffy half-moon with irregular edges.

"How long ago were these taken?" House asked.

"About three or four years ago. And these are originals; when Cindy and Pete said they were ending their association with the doctor, he handed them the films. Scotty had a huge fight with them at that point; they called him an amoral degenerate and he accused them of trying to kill him."

"He was a lot closer to being right than they were," Thirteen said.

"The location of the growth is definitely consistent with seizures," Foreman said.

"I guess one of the first questions is whether it's a tumor or a cyst?" Taub said.

"Tumor," Lydia said. "The darkness indicates mass and density that a solid object would have."

"Score one for Strohman," House said. He brought his finger up to the film. "There's the vessel that's been feeding the tumor as it grew…the question now is, where is the end?" He looked over at the table. "Any other views in there?" he asked indicating the envelope Slick had brought in.

"No; they only did the two lobes; you're looking for views of the hindbrain," Slick said. House nodded in the affirmative.

"This thing probably terminates in the area of the brain that reminds your heart and lungs that they have a job to do; if it is an aneurysm and it lets go in there, he'll have a stroke that will end any chance he has a being the next Frank Lloyd Wright," House said. He turned to Foreman. "I need to get the MRI done on Scotty. I know the thought of a seriously injured mom and her little kid just tugs at the old heart strings, but my patient has just as much right to proper care as anyone else…insured or not." House was looking back and forth between Wilson and Foreman as he made the last statement; he could feel Lydia's eyes burning into him over his flippant comment about the mother and son, but he would deal with that later. Right now, his patient came first.

"I'll call down and see where things stand with the MRI," Foreman said. His cell phone began to ring. "As soon as I handle this." Foreman moved to the corner of the room to answer the call. House looked at Slick.

"Is that ink blot what you had seen?" he asked.

"Yeah. I thought it was pretty obvious, but I didn't want to influence your call."

"Around here, all opinions are welcomed; that's the essence of diagnostics," House said. "If it's something really moronic, however, we'll be sure to let you know." Slick laughed.

"I got that distinct impression," he said. Lydia took the film from House and replaced it in the envelope on the table; her leg had been fine when they first started to confer with Slick, but now it was beginning to ache a bit. She sat in the chair that House had been in and put her head down. House's back was to her, so he didn't see that she was hurting.

"Lydia, are you OK?" Thirteen asked. House heard the question, spun around and headed over to the table.

"I'm fine," she answered, waving her hand dismissively.

"Well, I'm glad you're OK." Foreman said. "Because I'm not sure our patient is going to be OK. His mother is downstairs in the lobby…with her lawyer."


	10. Chapter 10

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Ten – "Asking for Directions"

By: purpleu

"What the hell does she want?" asked Chase.

"If it's a chance to try out for mother of the year, tell her she's already been permanently disqualified," House said.

"She's probably making sure this thing with Scotty is kept quiet. Cindy is a big deal in the local business community and sees herself as being above any dirt or scandal. When Adam died, she made sure that the media reported it as him dying from ALS, not a drug overdose," Slick said. "God forbid she should seem less than perfect."

"Does your brother agree with this 'no freaks in my gene pool' attitude, or is he just whipped?" asked House.

"Probably a bit of both. Pete owns a home building company best known for their luxury homes; Cindy inherited Atlantis Realty from her father. It's not only the largest agency in the county, but it also has a rep for listing upscale homes, condos and co-ops."

"Sounds like a match made in heaven," Taub said.

"Hell seems more like it," commented Chase.

"Knowing who Scotty's mother is, her attitude makes sense now," Lydia said. "She is a narrow-minded, biased, arrogant… bitch," she proclaimed.

"Whoa!" said Chase. "The only person you've ever talked about like that is your ex."

"You've never heard our pillow talk," cracked House.

"You just described Cindy perfectly," Slick said. "By what unfortunate set of circumstances did you get to meet the Dragon Lady?"

"My friend Annie is the one who had to deal with her. Her agency was recommended to us when we moved back here. Annie had no idea that they specialized in high-end real estate; she also didn't know they had a problem renting to two single women."

"Are you kidding me? Did you report her?" Thirteen asked. Lydia shook her head.

"No; everything that was said was implied. It seemed it was a problem that I had young children who were going to be going to public school; they didn't know anything about the school districts, since most of their clients sent their children to private schools. The realtor was horrified by the fact that Annie was a musician until she told them that she played with the Philadelphia Philharmonic. Suddenly, Annie was OK, but not me since I was only a teaching assistant. Plus our price was below the minimum listing that they usually featured. Always lurking in the background was the idea that two women wanted to rent a place together; the issue was constantly being brought up. Annie was so rattled by the whole thing; at that point she still hated to deal with strangers."

"Boy, a lot has changed in the past week," noted Taub. Everyone turned to look at Wilson.

"What are you all looking at me for? Annie's her own person; she doesn't need any help from me," he protested. Lydia looked up at him from where she was seated at the head of the table.

"Oh don't act like you had nothing to do with letting the genie out of the bottle, she teased. Wilson appeared to be blushing as he fumbled for a response.

"Well, I…suppose that…there's a chance…" he said awkwardly. House smiled; he enjoyed watching Wilson squirm in the face of comments about Annie. House would get his own digs in at a later point; for now he wanted to return the focus to Scotty.

"Bust Wilson's chops on your own time; I know I will," House said as Wilson shot him a look. "So what's the best way to deal with Cruella De Vil?" he asked Slick.

"I'm sure she just wants to make certain that this is kept quiet; convince her that it will be, and you'll be fine," assured Slick.

"She's waiting in our office," Foreman said to Wilson. "Hopefully we can make this quick. Do you want to come and join us?" Foreman asked Slick.

"No, thank you," he replied. "I've had enough of that woman to last me several lifetimes; it was because of her that Scotty and I lost touch with each other. Besides, I think you have someone who is more than capable of handling her." He turned and looked at House. "I'm sure you can come up with a bunch of ways to tell her where to stick it."

"Less than twenty-four hours since we met, and he already knows me like a book," House said. "Honey, looks like you've got some competition." Lydia gave him a look as she stood, then whispered something quietly in his ear as she walked past him. House closed his eyes and smiled. "You're right; you do know me better," he said as he glanced over his shoulder at Lydia as she went into his office.

"I'm going to see Scotty," Slick said. "I know he said no visitors, but I'm sure he didn't even consider the thought that I'd show up."

"You played it very cool last night, especially in the E.R.; so did the kid for that matter," House noted. "Any feel for the way he's going to react to your being here? 'Cause if this is going to be heart wrenching for him, he really doesn't need any help in that area."

"I think he'll be fine; he knows it was Cindy who put the distance between us. I did what I could at the time, but I had a bit of drama going on in my own life at that point."

"Hunter?" asked Foreman. Slick nodded.

"That and more," he replied.

"It might be an idea if one of us went with you; it could help to smooth things over," Thirteen suggested. House nodded.

"Since you volunteered," he said looking at Thirteen. "Let the kid know where we're going with things; tell him that after we confirm what's going on in his head, his brain has a date in the O.R." House turned to Lydia. "Is your leg up to playing social worker?"

"Yes…." she said both cautiously and curiously. "And how do you propose I do that?"

"You may have smacked her hand over her little blue M&M trick, but I also saw you taking to Misty May after Scotty had his last attack; you kept her as reasonably calm as an international candy smuggler could be under the circumstances." While everyone else got a laugh from House's comment, Slick stood there, brows knitted together and shaking his head.

"I know Misty's a little intense when it comes to Scotty," Slick said with a smile. "They've known each other since their early teens and Misty always had a thing for him. And why not? He's a good looking, athletic kid with a brilliant mind, a wicked sense of humor and despite what he's been through with his parents, a good heart. It's easy to see why she fell in love with him; and him her. They are well matched in both temperament and intelligence; he was the valedictorian of his class, she was the salutatorian."

"They sound well suited for each other," Lydia said with a quick, shy glance at House. He caught sight of it and realized he was doing a bad job of hiding a smile; he just hoped the others in the room didn't notice. Yeah, House thought to himself, Scotty and his girlfriend did remind him of another perfect, slightly older couple he knew.

"So what did she do that was over the top?" Slick asked. Lydia explained what had happened between Misty and Scotty and how she chose to deal with it by obtaining little blue "pills." Slick laughed so hard, he had to lean on the conference table to hold himself up.

"Oh, that poor misguided kid," he said as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. "I'd always told her that Scotty loves her for her mind and her sense of fun and caring; plus, he thought she was hot. She doesn't need to pull any tricks out of a hat to keep his attention." Now it was Lydia's turn to suppress a smile as House shot her a look.

"Sounds to me like she's a bit insecure," Chase said.

"Yeah, but let me tell you something: she has never once flinched or shied away from Scotty's medical problems. It's the one thing he has always been able to hold on to and give him hope for his future."

"He certainly hasn't been able to count on the creature that bore him," remarked House. He glanced at Wilson who looked deep in thought. House waved his hand in front of Wilson's face to get his attention. "Trying to remember if you turned off the oven before you left the house?" he asked sarcastically. Wilson broke away from his thoughts to answer House.

"No, wondering if Scotty's mother or her business is a donor to the hospital; if she is, we have to tread carefully when we meet with her. If not…"

"We can't be blatantly rude," Foreman said.

"We don't have to put up with any rudeness or attitude on her part, either," Wilson countered. He was obviously feeling the need to defend Annie after her unfortunate dealings with Cindy Andrews and her real estate company.

"Why don't you wait and see if she's a Chihuahua or a pit bull before you decide how strong the leash you're using should be," offered House. He knew how Wilson could be when playing white knight to a damsel in distress; House didn't want Wilson to screw things up for himself professionally by allowing personal issues to get in the way. Wilson let out a sigh.

"Alright, I'll let you play pit bull for our side," he said to House.

"And you can play the part of a teacup poodle," House answered in return. "Go down to the kid," he said to Thirteen. "Take Spanky and Darla with you." House looked at Taub. "We're not going to wait for the MRI; kick whoever is on line for a CAT scan out of the way and get the kid in there next. I don't give a damn how warm and fuzzy their tale of woe may be, I'm trying to save this kid's life. Call Thirteen when you're ready for him, she'll arrange for transport."

"I was going to put a call in to Dr. Mallon," Chase said, referring to one of the hospital's neurosurgeons. "He should have some notice about the patient's condition and history. Maybe I can even get him to look at the scan as we're doing it and see how quickly he wants to get Scotty into surgery."

"Fine," House said. "As long as he knows he's got you along for the ride. I want you playing shotgun on this."

"I already intended to," Chase replied.

"OK, let's get this over with," Foreman said. "After all is said and done, we can meet and see where things stand. I just wish the kid had insurance to cover the costs of all this."

"Spoken like a true humanitarian," House commented.

"House, look…" Foreman began.

"You know, I thought of something before when you said 'social worker' to me," Lydia said pointing to House. "Why don't you have one of the hospital's social workers speak to Scotty? He's probably eligible for some kind of assistance." Foreman nodded.

"You're right; I didn't even think of that," he said.

"The sooner the better," she said. "They might even be able to back date some paperwork, thereby covering more of his bill. After all, it's been less than twenty-four hours since he's been admitted." Wilson and Foreman looked at each other and smiled.

"I cannot wait until we get you working for us; with the increased income flow coming from things being properly billed, it'll be the first time this place will operate in the black in years," Wilson said.

"And no, he wasn't referring to you," House said to Foreman, who grimaced in response.

"Are you joining us for the meeting with Mrs. Andrews?" Wilson asked House.

"Of course; wouldn't miss being drawn and quartered for all the world." Everyone started to move toward the door to begin their assigned tasks.

"I'm going to stop by patient services real quick and make them aware of the situation; wait for me by the front desk so we can go into the office together," Foreman said as he trotted off down the hall. Lydia and House were the last two left in the conference room.

"Hope you don't mind that I volunteered you to go play diplomat; I kind of figured the instinct was in the blood," House said to Lydia as they entered the hallway,

"I was wondering why I was being given the role of negotiator," she said with a smile. House looked down at the floor.

"I just know you're really good at making people see things from a different point of view." House looked up at her with an admiring look. "Go get 'em Fraulein," he said indicating the direction Thirteen and Slick were heading.

"Good luck," Lydia said. "I'll see you in a little while." She turned and left to join the others. House smiled as he watched her walk away.

"Everything OK?" Wilson asked. He had waited for House so they could take the elevator down together.

"Fine; why would you think something was wrong? Or is this just the natural, nosy Wilson vibe kicking in?" Wilson rolled his eyes.

"I'm not being nosy. It's just that you two usually kiss hello and goodbye…and this time you didn't so…" Now it was House's turn to roll his eyes.

"As much as I would love to experience the tactile stimulation of swapping spit with my girlfriend at random moments, if we're going to be working together, I'm going to be forced to exhibit some self-control."

"And we all know what a difficult task that is for you to achieve." House shot Wilson a look.

"When it comes to Lydia, yeah. I'm just thinking the fewer people that knew we two were an item, the better; without a doubt I would lose any popularity contest held around here. I don't want my rep to reflect poorly on her." They reached the elevators and House pushed the call button.

"Actually, after the way you took out Hunter, your approval rating around here is quite high," Wilson noted. House smirked.

"That'll last until the next time I piss someone off. Although according to the kid's uncle, my picture is in the locker of every EMT in town. Hate for Hunter knows no bounds it seems." The doors to the elevator opened and the two stepped inside the car.

"That doesn't surprise me," said Wilson. "Did Slick ever say what the circumstances were behind his problems with the dirt bag?"

"Nope. It's hard to imagine what you can nail an endocrinologist for. It's a lot harder than say…an oncologist," House said with a fake smile.

"Very funny. Slick seems like a decent guy; he certainly cares about his nephew a great deal." House nodded his head in agreement.

"He's probably been more of a father to that kid than the sperm donor has."

"You know the saying," Wilson said. "Anyone can be a father; it takes someone special to be a dad." House stared at Wilson in disbelief.

"You really have to stop spending so much time in Hallmark stores," House said shaking his head. The doors to the elevators opened and the pair stepped out into the lobby.

"Come on; you know the sentiment being expressed is true," Wilson said. House let out a sigh; he leaned against the back of the reception desk.

"Watching this kid deal with his idiotic parents, I'm becoming a firm believer that people should have to pass a qualifying test before they're even allowed to pro-create." Wilson laughed.

"I agree with that." Wilson looked over at House to say something and saw that he was resting his head in his hands. "There's something more than just parental issues nagging at you, as if that wasn't enough." House put his hands on the counter, paused for a moment then pushed himself upright.

"You know what's bothering me? Here's a guy who's smart. He's smart enough to know that there is something wrong with him, and in fact, he knows what that something is; but because everyone thinks he's a druggie, no one is willing to give him any help. The fact that the parents are leading the opposition rally just pisses me off all the more." House was standing several feet away from the front desk as he had begun to pace as he was speaking. Wilson walked over to where he was standing.

"House, I know you're upset at the way the kid's parents treat him and I don't blame you; I want to smack the mother over how her employees made Annie feel. But like you hinted upstairs, you can't let personal feelings get in the way. That's always been your mantra."

"Yeah, well I'm changing yogis," House snarked. He looked at Wilson. "You have to watch what you say since you're now a visible representative of this place's administration; I may be head of my own department, but to her, I'm an underling. Let me take the heat from anything that will intentionally offend her finer sensibilities." Wilson raised up his right arm, then let it down with a slap of his hand against his thigh. He was clearly frustrated.

"Damn it, I want to practice medicine, not accounting, not human resources and certainly not office politics. Foreman is much more comfortable with this than I am," Wilson said. "He can handle this by himself." House shook his head.

"If I lose Foreman, I'll need to look for a new fellow; you know what that was like the last time." Wilson winced at first; then a sad look came over his face.

"Don't remind me," he said as he thought of Amber. "Are you sure you want to take on the kid's mother?" House nodded.

"I have my reputation for being a jerk to defend; I've heard too much about what a great guy I am since dealing with Hunter. Someone's got to put a stop to it. It might as well be me. By the way, don't let Annie see that look on your face." Wilson smiled.

"No reason to look sad around her," Wilson said quietly. "Here comes Foreman."

"Sorry I took so long," he said as he approached them. "I walked Janice Miller from patient services to Scotty's room. Lydia was right: they can fiddle with the dating so that everything can be covered, even the ambulance."

"How were things going up there?" Wilson asked,

"Great; Lydia was getting up from sitting on the end of the bed when we started walking toward the room and by the time we got there, Slick and Scotty were hugging."

"Ach, mein little Kissinger," House said with a German accent.

"I don't know what part Lydia played, but the kid's girlfriend looked like she was going to bite right through her bottom lip until Lydia and Thirteen walked her over to the side while Janice spoke to Scotty and Slick. Oh, Misty's parents showed up right before I left; they obviously adore the kid," Foreman observed.

"Good," said House as he closed his eyes and dropped his head down. He exhaled loudly, then picked his head up and looked at Wilson and Foreman. "Let's get this bitch out of here so we can do something she's never done: help her son." House, Wilson and Foreman made their way to the dean's office; Foreman opened the door and stepped inside.

"Mrs. Andrews, we're so sorry to keep you waiting. As you can imagine running a facility of this size keeps us on the go. I'm Dr. Eric Foreman, co-Dean of Medicine," he said as he extended his hand; Cindy Andrews took it weakly and without much enthusiasm.

"I'm Dr. James Wilson, I'm also co-Dean of Medicine," he said as he offered his hand; it was met with the same cold response that Foreman's was. House had moved around behind the desk while introductions were being made. He sat down in the desk chair and put his feet up on the desk. Cindy regarded him with disdain; Wilson and Foreman with embarrassment.

"And is this another co-Dean?" Cindy asked contemptuously as she pointed at House.

"Nope," he answered. House was hoping he was annoying her, but she appeared to be unflappable.

"What is your role around here? Other than being transparently rude."

"Sometimes I play the part of court jester, although most people don't find me too funny," House said.

"House, get up out of the chair," Foreman said in an annoyed voice.

"Boy, Lincoln signs one piece of paper and they think they own the world," House said, twirling his cane as he rose from the chair.

"This is Dr. Gregory House," Wilson said, thoroughly enjoying House's antics. "He is your son's doctor." House took a deep bow as he sat down on the credenza behind the desk.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're not wasting any of your best doctors on Scott; he's simply not worth it."

"Excuse me?" Foreman asked as he sat down behind the desk. Mrs. Andrews waved her hand at the man who sat silently to her left.

"I'm James Madison; I'm Mrs. Andrews' attorney," the man said nervously as he rose to shake hands.

"Hey, you were always my favorite president," House said as he gripped Madison's hand way too hard. "I'm serious about that." The lawyer was taken aback by House, but after a moment he recovered, and began pulling papers out of his briefcase.

"Mrs. Andrews wanted to make sure that you were fully aware that neither she nor her husband is legally responsible for any of Scott's medical expenses. He is twenty years old and left his parents' home when he was seventeen." Foreman and Wilson started to look over the papers being presented to them: copies of Scotty's birth certificate, notarized letters attesting to changes made in Pete and Cindy Andrews' wills which disowned Scotty. None of it had any real legal significance in reference to Scotty's hospitalization.

"Don't you mean you kicked Scotty out when he was seventeen?" House asked. He had his fun with Cindy Andrews, but he was quickly tiring of her attitude toward her son.

"It was something of a mutual decision, although Scott's father and I felt that it was best considering Scott's drug abuse and behavioral issues," Cindy said.

"Behavioral issues?" Wilson questioned. Cindy let out an exasperated sigh.

"Insisting that we take him from one doctor to another to treat a problem that was clearly caused by his drug abuse."

"Really? Was he abusing drugs at eight years old" Because that's how old he was when he first experienced signs of Synesthesia," House said.

"He never said anything about it…"

"Of course not; he already saw that Mommy and Daddy were all wrapped up with Big Brother's problems. Then when Bro's gone, and you find out that your other kid has a problem, you flip out, accuse him of being a junkie and poison the minds of any doctors who could possibly help him. Sound about right?" House had been pacing in a semi-circle behind Cindy Andrews' chair while he was speaking, for both emphasis and to rattle the woman; but she wouldn't crack.

"I suppose that's Scott's point of view on the situation; I wouldn't imagine you're even interested in mine."

"Go ahead," House said as he sat down on the corner of the desk. "I love hearing the delusions that go on in another person's mind." Cindy ignored House and directed her comments to Foreman and Wilson.

"After our older son died tragically from ALS, Scott, in a pathetic attempt for attention claimed to have this odd, rare disorder. It was something he looked up on the internet; he searched until he found a disease that mirrored the symptoms of drug addiction and decided that was the disease he had. It was pathetic."

"Mrs. Andrews, are you aware that Synesthesia is a syndrome recognized by the American Neurological Society, as well as many international organizations?" Foreman asked. "My specialty is neurology, and I can assure you that the problem is quite real." Cindy Andrews gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Then I'm sure you're aware, Dr. Foreman, that there is a great deal of controversy surrounding this…'disease' and its diagnosis. Many minor celebrities, who claim to have the condition, are also well known drug users."

"Boy, it's a good thing you're sitting here," House said to Madison, the lawyer. "That sure sounds like slander to me."

"Dr. House, I found a joint in my son's pocket…"

"One joint, one time," House pointed out. "He's not the first kid to give in to curiosity; that doesn't mean he's a stoner. The most decent people in the world have tried the stuff at least once; isn't that true?" House said as he started at Cindy and raised his hand. Wilson and Foreman picked up on the point House was trying to make and likewise raised their hands. Cindy sat and looked them with her face set in stone; her lawyer was fidgeting and looking nervously around the room. House leaned forward and caught his eye. "C'mon," he said, his hand still up in the air. "She can't be paying you that much." Madison swallowed hard and slowly raised his hand; Cindy looked at him in horror.

"What exactly is your point, Dr. House?" she asked.

"My point," he said lowering his hand, "Is that we have run every possible test on Scotty to check for drugs; we've checked his pee, his poop, his blood, his hair, his spit…he's clean. No drugs…not even aspirin or Flintstone vitamins. The only thing wrong in his bodily fluids is where his DNA came from." Cindy Andrews showed discomfort for the first time, squirming slightly in her seat.

"Obviously Scott's medical issues are from his prior abuse." Cindy rose from her chair. "I didn't come here to debate the whys and wherefores of my son's case. I was simply extending to the hospital the courtesy of knowing that Scott has no means to pay for any treatment you may give him. If I have made that clear, I believe we are done here." Foreman and Wilson exchanged looks as House rose from the corner of the desk and began to wander toward the door.

"I think we have a clear picture of what's happening here," Wilson said as he glanced toward House. "We thank you for coming in." Both he and Foreman extended their hands and were greeted with the same indifference that started the meeting. Cindy Andrews made her way to the door and was reaching for the doorknob when House spoke.

"How can you possibly make the accusations that you do against your son when you don't even care enough to know him?" Cindy turned slowly toward House.

"I can assure you, Dr. House, I know my son quite well," she replied.

"Really? Mountains or the beach?" Wilson's head snapped around; he was startled to hear the very question he had asked House about Cuddy when House came out of the medically induced coma.

"Pardon me?" Cindy asked.

"If your son was planning a vacation," House said taking several steps toward the door, "Where would he want to go? The mountains or the beach?"

"I…I have no idea."

"What's his favorite sports team?"

"I don't…"

"What's his favorite breed of dog? What kind of toppings does he like on his pizza? Does he sleep on his left side, his right side, his stomach or his back?"

"How in the world would I know?" Cindy answered in an annoyed, slightly louder voice. House walked a few steps closer.

"You're his mother," he said in a terse voice. "Don't you think you should give a damn enough to know?" Cindy jutted her chin out as she locked eyes with him.

"Dr. House, I never said I gave a damn." Cindy turned to Foreman and Wilson. "Good day, gentleman." She opened the door and left the office with Madison trailing behind her. The three men stood in stunned silence

"Damn!" Foreman said. "That woman is colder than a witch's teat!"

"You ought to know," House said as he walked back to the desk. Foreman was still so surprised by Cindy Andrews' depth of callousness toward her son, that he didn't even respond to House's jibe.

"That woman was unbelievable," Wilson said. "She would most definitely fail a parental qualifying test."

"A what?" Foreman asked.

"She wouldn't even be allowed to sit for the exam," House noted. Foreman still looked confused when there was a knock at the door.

"Friend or foe?" Wilson called out. The door opened and Chase stepped in.

"Friend, I hope," he said. Chase closed the door and joined the others by the desk. "Was that helmet-haired iceberg that went floating through the lobby Scotty's mother? I got a chill just being near her."

"Come, warm yourself by the fires of commiserated misery," House offered. "Yeah, that was her."

"She was colder than cold," Foreman said. "House did his worst to try and shake her, but she was …blank. The only emotions she showed were disgust and annoyance."

"She looked like it pissed her off to be sharing the planet with the rest of us," Chase noted.

"Well, I think we've seen the last of her," Wilson said. "She came in, made her point and left. Good riddance. Scotty's better off without her." He looked at House who was unusually quiet in the face of so much ammunition. "House, everything OK?" House had been staring out the window; he now returned his attention to the office and the people in it. He ignored Wilson's question and spoke directly to Chase.

"How'd things go with Mallon?" he asked referring to the neurosurgeon.

"Fine, he's on his way over here now. I caught him just after he finished office hours and he was coming back here to check out a couple of his patients. The timing's working out well." House nodded.

"Based on the three-year-old CAT scans, the tumor itself shouldn't present too much of a problem; the position indicated it could be removed through the sinus cavity."

"The less trauma to the body the better," Chase said. "Depending on the size and positioning of the aneurysm, it may prove difficult to work on."

"Thank God he has his uncle, his girlfriend and her parents to lean on during all this," Wilson said. "Think how scared this kid must be."

"All those other people are very nice," House said as he stared at the floor. "But no matter how old you get to be, when you're sick and scared, you still want Mommy and Daddy to hold your hand." The sound of "I Kissed a Girl" indicating Thirteen was calling came from his cell phone. He fished the device out of his pocket, kicking himself for revealing his thoughts to the others a few minutes ago. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"We're about to transport Scotty down for the scan; he's had an angina incident about thirty minutes ago," Thirteen said. "I gave him a nitro and Lydia massaged his carotid artery. He responded pretty quickly and seems fine now."

"I understand that he and his uncle became a couple of weeping willies a little while ago; was that the trigger?"

"No, the angina happened before that. I was glad to see Misty's parents come in; you would think that Scotty was their son or son-in-law with the way they treat him. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson obviously love him." House closed his eyes.

"Glad to hear it; he needs someone to protect him from the great white shark masquerading as his mother," he said. "Grab a few more nitro from the crash cart and take them down to the lab with you. If Scotty has any more problems, we need to have something in our arsenal; I don't want the kid to have too much in his system in case Mallon wants to take him into surgery right away."

"Got it," Thirteen said. "How did the meeting with Scotty's mother go?" House shook his head.

"I know of animals that eat their young who show more empathy and caring toward their kids."

"Ouch! Glad I wasn't there. Looks like transport's here; see you downstairs." House ended the call.

"Are they taking Scotty down now?" Chase asked.

"Yeah," House said. "Hopefully the scan will prove us right, Mallon can get in there, and we can end this kid's misery."

"Who came up with the idea of a tumor/aneurysm combo?' Wilson asked. House smiled for the first time in the past hour.

"Lydia," he answered as he headed for the door.

"Going to watch the scan?" Chase called out. House nodded, "I'll go with you."

"Wilson and I just have some paperwork we have to review. It's the final proposal for the new position with all the agreed on changes," Foreman said to Wilson. "I want to make sure this is correct, so that when Lydia gives us her resume tomorrow, we can put the package together for the board meeting on Thursday." House could see that Wilson was less than thrilled at the idea of doing paperwork, but knowing it would ultimately benefit Lydia, he agreed to look things over.

"Might as well do it now; I've got to pick Annie up in about an hour. She had a couple of meetings and brief rehearsal." He smiled. "She's making me her famous white clam sauce tonight."

"If I know Lydia, she's going to want to make her marinated steak she talked about the other night," House said. "I'd rather she stay off her leg, but there's no arguing with a stubborn Fraulein." Chase looked at Foreman.

"What are we doing wrong? We're the two young guys around here and they're the ones with beautiful ladies bending over backward to take care of them," he said.

"That's because all you two can get are girls; we have real women in our lives," House said. The other guys laughed as House made his way to the elevators.

"See you down there," Chase said to Wilson and Foreman as he left the office. He caught up with House as the elevator doors opened. After allowing other passengers to leave, the two entered the car. "I heard what you said to Thirteen about your meeting with Scotty's mother. Was she really that bad?" he asked.

"Worse," answered House. He filled in the details of what was said in the office. "She was so blatant about her lack of caring, it was obnoxious." The doors opened and they exited to the left and headed to the CAT scan room. "All parents screw up their kids in some way; some big, some small. By all rights, Scotty should be rocking back and forth in a corner and talking to the faces on the wall."

"He seems like a nice, normal, decent guy; certainly not someone who's not deserving of sympathy. Especially from his own mother," said Chase. House shrugged.

"Maybe when he was a kid he pulled every other petal off all the petunias in her garden. Or maybe someone like her doesn't need an excuse to be a bitch." They rounded the corner of the hall that led to the lab; House was not happy with the sight that greeted him. Lydia was seated on a bench outside the lab, with her leg propped up on a chair, an ice pack resting against it. Misty and a woman, House assumed was her mother, were sitting next to her. Slick and another man stood nearby.

"Should I even ask why you're sitting like that?" House asked Lydia.

"Our resident EMT noticed I was wincing a bit when we got down here. The next thing I know, he found a chair for me to elevate my leg, and he's putting an ice pack on it." House turned to Slick.

"Please don't tell me you had that in your pocket, too," he said, referring to the Maglite flashlight that Slick pulled out earlier.

"Nah, I had to go out to my car to get that," he said pointing to the icepack.

"I don't want to know what else you have in there," House said shaking his head.

"Dr. House, these are Misty's parents, Robert and Regina Nelson," said Lydia, making introductions.

"Nice to meet you," Robert Nelson said as he offered his hand. House gladly shook his hand; he knew it was being offered with much more sincerity than Cindy Andrews did earlier. House nodded in the direction of Regina Nelson who remained seated on the bench next to her daughter, her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"This is Dr. Chase; he's a member of my team," House said gesturing toward Chase who was looking into the room where Scotty was being prepped.

"Hello," he said, nodding to the Nelsons. "I'm going to see if I can give Taub and Thirteen a hand." Chase disappeared into the lab.

"Dr. House, we can't thank you enough," Regina Nelson said. "Misty and Ms. Strohman told us how you and Dr. Wilson saved Scotty's life; I can't believe Joe wanted to leave him there on the floor!"

"Yeah, it seems he was willing to wait until the band took their first break and then he'd just sweep him out with the trash," said House.

"He was yelling at me to clean up the breakage after they got Scotty out to the ambulance; when I said no, I'm going to the hospital, he fired me! He also fired Leslie, the bartender who drove me here. I feel so bad for her; she's a single mom and she really needs the money." Misty leaned into her mother and started to cry.

"Hey, we talked about that, and I told you not to worry," Slick said. "Right now, let's get our boy back on his feet, then we'll worry about anything else." Misty looked at Slick and rose off the bench to embrace him.

"I'm so glad you're back," Misty said as she hugged him. "Scotty and I missed you so much." Slick closed his eyes and smiled.

"I won't let it happen again; I promise," he said.

"Here comes the person who's going to help with getting Scotty to be a homo-erectus again; and without the use of blue Skittles," House said. While Lydia and Slick smiled, Misty looked embarrassed and the Nelsons, confused. As he looked to his right and saw Dr. Mallon coming down the hall, he figured he would leave the subject alone.

"Hello, Dr. House," Mallon said as he nodded acknowledgements to the others in the group. He did a double take as he spied Lydia's leg with the ice on it, but made no comment.

"This is the patient's uncle, who likes to be known as 'Slick,'" Lydia said. "This is Misty Nelson, Scotty's girlfriend, and these are her parents, Robert and Regina Nelson." Mallon nodded to each in turn.

"And you are?" he asked Lydia.

"I'm Lydia Strohman. I'm a liaison between Dr. House's team and the patient and his family." Damn, she's good House thought; she came out with that BS without missing a beat.

"Is your leg OK?" Mallon asked.

"Oh, it's fine; I hurt it last night and Drs. House and Chase took care of it," she said.

"Good, good," Mallon said, obviously still trying to size up the situation.

"Your patient's in here," House said flatly, sensing Mallon's curiosity about Lydia.

"Well, let me see what's going on with…Scotty," he said looking at Lydia for confirmation, "and then we can discuss what needs to be done." Mallon started to walk toward the lab with House right next to him. "Tell me, House: is Ms. Strohman connected to you or your team?" he asked.

"Both," House quickly answered; he normally wouldn't flaunt the personal aspect of his relationship with Lydia, but he felt somewhat threatened. After all, Mallon was a good-looking guy ten years younger than House. Plus he had two good legs. "She's assisting my team until they firm up a new position that she'll be handling. She knows her way around IDC codes better than most doctors do."

"Impressive." Mallon stopped. "Sorry…she just kind of caught my attention."

"Yeah, mine too…a while ago." Mallon held his hands up in surrender and laughed.

"I get the idea," he said stepping into the scan room. "Dr. Taub, Dr. Hadley."

"Hello, Dr. Mallon." Thirteen said. "What view do you want first?"

"You said the films from a few years ago indicated the tumor's in the frontal lobe," he said to Chase, "so let's start there." Thirteen pushed the appropriate buttons. In a few moments, the image came on screen. "How does the size appear compared to the older scan?"

"Slightly larger, but not significant," said House leaning in for a look.

"That's good," Mallon said glancing over his shoulder at Wilson and Foreman as they arrived. The two of them leaned in to get a look at the screen.

"It's hard to tell from this view, but that may even be encapsulated," Wilson said. Mallon nodded.

"It looks like it might be; it's certainly in a good position for less invasive removal," he said.

"You're going to go up his nose with a rubber hose," House said quoting an old television show. "At least going through the nasal cavity will be one less incision to heal. I think the other half of this balancing act will more than make up for how easy the first part will be."

"Do you want to see the hindbrain?" Taub asked.

"Bring on the dancing medulla oblongata," House quipped. He looked to his right to see Lydia walk into the room.

"How's it going?" she asked.

"Confirmed the tumor; we're just waiting to see if the aneurysm is fact or fantasy," House said.

"Everyone out there is a bit anxious over the tumor issue; Misty especially keeps asking if it's cancer."

"It looks like that is the least of this young man's concerns," Mallon said ominously. "Rotate the image forty-five degrees," he said to Taub.

"Damn," Foreman said quietly but intently. The aneurysm was there, alright and in the worst possible position.

"Any movement of the aneurysm could trigger another cardiac arrest, even if it's to remove it," Mallon said.

"Yeah and that bubble looks ready to burst at any time; if it goes pop, he'll wind up a vegetable or dead," House said cringing at his own words.

"We may just have to go in and proceed as cautiously as possible," said Mallon. House became annoyed.

"This isn't a game of 'Operation' you know," he said to Mallon, "You make one wrong move and his nose isn't going to light up; his life will be over."

"I'm aware of that, Dr. House," Mallon replied tersely, "but our options for approaching this in a completely safe manner are nil."

"Is there any way we could stop his heart briefly? Just long enough to let you repair the aneurysm without doing damage to the brain?" Wilson asked.

"It would take too long," Chase said. "It would take longer to do the repair than the heart and other organs could take without getting proper blood flow."

"A bypass machine." Everyone turned to look at Lydia who spoke the words.

"You want to split open his chest and put him on a bypass machine so we can remove a simple aneurysm?" Mallon questioned.

"If the aneurysm was simple, we wouldn't be discussing the need for the machine," she countered. "The machine would allow you all the time you need to make the repair without extra pressure. His heart, despite the recent attacks us more than string enough to handle being put on the bypass unit and then removed without complications." Mallon shook his head.

"Look, this surgery is dicey enough…" he began.

"So is dying," Lydia answered.

"He's a young kid…he's going to be left with a nasty scar on his chest…"

"Beats dying." Mallon looked at House.

"Makes sense to me," he said.

"You think your patient will go along with this?"

"Go along with having a chance at living rather than a sure shot at dying? Yeah. Especially after she finishes talking to them," House said indicating Lydia. Mallon sighed.

"OK, I'll contact the cardio-thoracic department; they're probably going to want to speak to someone from here before getting on board with this."

"Have them page Chase," House said. "He can answer their questions."

"Fine. After I talk to them I'll meet you at the patient's room." Mallon let out a huge sigh as he left the room.

"I'm just going to let everyone out there know that we're going to meet in Scotty's room to discuss things," Lydia said. "I'll be right back." House smiled as she walked past him to head out to the hallway.

"Never mind coordinating medical records and billing," Wilson said in awe, "she could run the whole place if she wanted to."

"She's going back to school to get those last nine credits in January," House said. "After that, I think two certain interim deans better look out."

"House, I watched her handle things up in Scotty's room earlier," Thirteen noted. "I saw her compassion, her empathy…she knew how and when to tell someone they were wrong and she knew how to encourage them when they were right. And after all that, I have to give you my highest compliment." House stood and walked to the door to watch Lydia out in the hall.

"Just what compliment is that?" he asked.

"I am completely, totally, insanely jealous." House smiled,

"And you damn well should be," he replied.


	11. Chapter 11

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Eleven – "Roadside Rest"

By: purpleu

"You don't have to wash the dishes," Annie said as she wrapped her arms around Wilson's waist from behind. "I know how to make the mess; I know how to clean it up."

"First of all, I would not call it a mess; I would call it a fantastic meal," Wilson countered. "And since you did all the work cooking it, I can do the work to clean it up." Wilson looked over his shoulder at her and smiled.

"OK, if you insist," Annie said running her hands up and down Wilson's back. "I'll go provide us with some after-dinner entertainment." Annie walked into the living room out of sight of Wilson; within a few moments, he heard the sweet sounds of Annie playing her cello. Wilson chuckled to himself; he had never been much of a classical music fan before meeting Annie, but she was quickly turning him in to a convert. As he loaded the dishwasher, Wilson found the music to be soothing after such a long and complicated day. It was taking an everyday task and making it tolerable.

"Bravo!" he called out when Annie finished the piece she was playing.

"Thank you, kind sir," she said teasingly. "Any requests?"

"Hmm…know any ABBA?" Wilson asked sarcastically.

"I think I do…"Annie said, sounding very serious.

"Do you want to try the blush Pinot Grigio?" Wilson had stopped to pick up some wine to go with dinner and they were doing a tasting of an Italian variety Wilson was unfamiliar with. After sampling it, he purchased a bottle to go with the White Merlot he already had in his hands. Wilson didn't actually know that much about wine; he usually just went by the pretty picture on the label.

"Ooo…I'd love to try some of that," Annie replied. Wilson began to uncork the bottle as music floated through the apartment again; he stopped what he was doing when he recognized the melody Annie was playing: "Fernando" by ABBA. He was stunned for a moment, then went back to opening the bottle with a huge smile on his face. He poured two glasses and carried them in to the living room. Annie sat in a chair in the corner, her eyes closed as she bowed across the strings. Wilson didn't know if it was the way she was moving, swaying to and fro as she played, or the fact that this was one of his favorite ABBA songs, but he found Annie's playing very…sensual, very sexy. Not that he needed anything to help him think about Annie in that way. From the moment they met, he found her to be fun, intelligent, caring…and she loved old-time Pop and Rock Music, What more could he want?

"Wow," Wilson said clapping as Annie finished the song. "I don't believe you knew how to play that song off the top of your head."

"I didn't; I knew the song. I figured out how to play it as I went along," she said as she packed up her cello.

"Wha…wait, how do you do that? How do your fingers know where to go and your arm know how to move the bow?" Annie laughed.

"Hours and hours and years and years of practice," she said. "And in my early days some pretty ugly sounds coming out of here," she said patting the cello case. She rose from where she was kneeling on the floor and joined Wilson on the couch. He picked up the wine glasses and handed one to her.

"To beautiful music, played by a beautiful lady," Wilson toasted. Annie shyly smiled as they clinked glasses and took a sip. She closed her eyes, savoring the drink.

"That is wonderful," she said. "Which wine store was carrying this?"

"Village Wine and Liquor; it's not too far from the hospital."

"I'll have to stop in there and pick something up to keep on hand for when you cook for me." Wilson smiled.

"I can cook up something for us tomorrow night," Wilson offered. Annie smiled, but shook her head.

"I have rehearsal until late," she said. "It will be the last one before the concert on Thursday. I'm sorry." Wilson waved his hand.

"My fault; you told me about the rehearsal and I forgot. Maybe we can go out and grab a drink and a late snack and save my cooking for…well, Thursday's out; you're not going to have time for me fussing with dinner. Friday the kids are coming in and you'll want to have dinner with them."

"I was hoping you'd want to have dinner with them, too," Annie said. "They're really good kids and I wanted you guys to get to know each other." Wilson shifted on the couch a bit and took a sip of his wine.

"I do want to get to know them; but I think I have some of the same concerns as House," Wilson said. "I've never been around kids much and I don't know how they'll react to me or me to them." He looked at Annie. "I've always wondered what kind of dad I'd be…I just don't want to blow it for the kids or find out I'd be lousy at it." Annie smiled; she thought Wilson was so cute and sweet when he got nervous talking about something. This obviously meant a lot to him and that pleased her tremendously.

"Look, this isn't a parental audition or anything like that; this is…"

"An Uncle James audition?" Wilson asked with a smile. Annie gave him a look.

"Those are your words, not mine. I don't want to sound like I'm being presumptuous."

"You're not; I wouldn't mind being called Uncle James at all if the kids are OK with it. Honestly what I have a hard time with is the idea of someone calling House 'Dad' or 'Daddy.' The whole thing has an unnatural ring to it."

"That's not very nice," Annie admonished. "He has a very caring side to him; you just have trouble seeing it."

"Well, he hasn't shown it too often around me," Wilson noted. "I keep hearing about it from other people." Annie drank some of her wine and snuggled in a little closer to Wilson.

"Mind one more third person story?" she asked. "This one comes from me." Wilson shrugged his shoulders and gestured for her to go ahead.

"When I was at Mayfield, Lydia would come and sit next to me and play the piano for me, talk to me; but at that point I couldn't hear anything that was being said. Then, slowly I heard something, someone talking, but I didn't know who it was. It was a man, and he was saying, 'Have I got a guy for you. My best friend Wilson.' I was shocked; I thought, 'Doesn't this person realize what I've been through?'" Wilson shook his head.

"That's House for you; an ass through and through. See that's what I mean…"

"Wait," Annie said holding up her hand. "He then started talking about the fact that Lydia told him about my ex-fiancé and the guys who attacked me and he said 'At least you'll never have to worry about them again since they're all dead.' I didn't know they were dead. Lydia had told me over and over again, that it was OK, that she and I were safe, but I couldn't hear her; I hadn't come out of the catatonic state. Greg was the one who told me and he kept telling me that Lydia and I were going to be OK." Annie took a sip of wine and then laughed. "He was kind of cute; he said he'd take care of Lydia, because he thought she was really hot and smart and she knew how to play the piano. And he told me I could trust you to watch out for me because you were a good person whose only problem was that you thought with the wrong head when it came to women in the past." Annie barely got the words out as she saw the look of horror come over Wilson's face.

"House told you that about me and you still wanted to even be near me?"

"I actually smiled a little after he said that; Lydia saw it, too. She had just shown up for visiting hours and was walking over when I just barely turned up the corners of my mouth. She kept asking Greg what he said to get me to react, but he wouldn't tell her. I don't know if he's told her yet." Wilson leaned forward, put his wine glass on the coffee table and buried his face in his hands.

"I know you're trying to make this sound like House gave me some sort of compliment, but to me, he made me sound like a degenerate," Wilson said, "I'm not like that at all…"

"That's not the point; he gained my trust, in both himself and you. He kept talking about how you were both doctors and while all doctors dealt with death, it had to take a special person to take it head on like you do in Oncology and he admired you for it."

"He said what?" Wilson exclaimed. "No, no…he was just saying that; he always busts my chops that I chose to work with patients who were going to die sooner rather than later. He…"

"He said it quite seriously. In fact, he kept telling me that's why I should wake up and rejoin the living: there was a sweetheart of a guy waiting who would sweep me off my feet. And he was right." She put her glass on the table, took Wilson's face in her hands and gave him a deep kiss. He put his arms around her and pulled her in close, returning her kiss and giving her several more.

"I am so glad you listened to…that jerk…of a best friend of mine," Wilson said laughing at the expression on Annie's face.

"Can't you ever say anything nice about Greg?" she asked giving him a gentle tap on the arm as a reprimand. Wilson sighed.

"House and I have been through a lot over the years; it's just very hard for me to imagine this…gentler side to him." Annie nodded.

"I can sort of understand that. For Lydia and me, the way we are now is the way we've always been with each other; there was never any big reveal of a latent aspect to who we are. I did read something recently, though, that I found very interesting." She picked up her glass. "The quote said, 'If we are willing to remove what we are, we have the chance to reveal what we are meant to be.' I think from their first meeting, there was something about Lydia that made Greg willing to try and find out what he's meant to be." Wilson smiled.

"Lydia is most certainly an extraordinary lady," Wilson said as he rolled the sentiment Annie said around in his head and retrieved his wine.

"Of course. Which is why she's my best friend," Annie said sitting up straight and raising her glass in a toast.

"Birds of a feather," said Wilson, turning the compliment on to Annie. He raised his glass and clinked hers to join in the fun. He looked at Annie and reached over to brush hair away from her face with his fingertips; she responded by nuzzling her cheek in to the palm of his hand.

"I love you," Wilson said softly.

"I love you, too," Annie replied with a big grin Wilson moved his hand away from her and began to tap it nervously on his leg. He leaned forward and put his glass on the table as he reached down to his right.

"I was going to give you this on Thursday night…to celebrate your return to the stage…but I can't wait so…" Wilson handed Annie a large envelope with a fancy gold bow on it.

"Can I open it now?" she asked, very amused at how nervous Wilson obviously was.

"Yes, you can open it…NO! No, wait…there's music that goes with it." He rummaged in his briefcase and pulled out a CD, "The 5th Dimension's Greatest Hits." Wilson popped the CD into the player that Annie had with her stereo system and pushed a few buttons. "OK, open it." Annie gave him a very wary look as she turned the envelope over and pulled up the flap all while the sixties music began to play.

"Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon? Would you like to glide in my beautiful balloon? We can float among the stars together you and I…" The vocal group sounded as good as ever to Wilson as he watched the expression on Annie's face as she heard the music and read what was in the envelope.

"I…I don't…what…?" Annie was unable to form any words, stunned by what Wilson gave her; he could see she needed help, so he sat back down next to her.

"Well, this says that two weeks from this Saturday, you and I are going into the wilds of Pennsylvania and meeting up with Flights of Fancy to take a two hour hot air balloon ride over the countryside. Then when we are back down to Earth, I found that there is a huge antique fair that we can stop at and look for that music stand you've wanted to get. Finally, we head to Cove Valley Resort." Wilson pulled a brochure out of the envelope. "They have these great rooms, a choice of three different restaurants and three different entertainment venues: a comedy club, a dance club and a wine and cheese café with a folk singer."

"Just like Tiffany's and Timepiece," said Annie. "Those places were in this neighborhood for years. Their homemade sangria was the best. And they had board games you could bring back to your table."

"Yeah, but if you wanted to play Trivial Pursuit, you had to leave your driver's license at the front desk," Wilson reminded her. "I always swore it was a sneaky way of proofing people."

"Yes!" Annie exclaimed. She had her legs folded up underneath her and was bouncing up and down like a little kid. "James, this…is just so wonderful! How did you manage to arrange it so quickly? We were just talking about this in the morning…wait." A look of dawning recognition came over Annie's face. "Is this why Lydia was talking about plans for the next few weekends with the kids and she told me to specifically keep that one open?" Wilson nodded.

"I wanted to make sure you didn't have any concerts or rehearsals to interfere with these plans." He looked down and hesitated before he spoke. "I want to spend time with you and Ben and Elise; I really do. And I enjoy being with Lydia and House; it's kind of neat after all these years to be able to go on a double date with my best friend." Annie smiled at the mention of the "Fabulous Foursome" as Lydia called them yesterday; just not in front of House, of course. "More importantly, I want us to have time together. Other than work and video games and pizza with House on a Saturday night, what do I ever do? I don't even take a walk on a beautiful weekend morning and go get a cup of coffee or a newspaper." He looked at Annie and took her hand. "You were right with what you said this morning: I haven't taken the time to enjoy the little, yet really important things in life. And from now on, I plan on seeing things I have never seen, doing things I've never done…especially now that I have someone I want to share those things with." Annie already had tears in her eyes as Wilson spoke, but now as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, they flowed freely. She pulled back and wiped the tears away as she spoke.

"Greg was right with all the things he said about you and more. He and Lydia and Steve may have helped to awaken me from the state I was in, but you've helped me feel alive again." Wilson smiled for a moment, then his expression turned to puzzlement.

"Who's Steve?" Annie laughed.

"Freedom Master. He was the fellow who lost his wife in the World Trade Center and he adopted this persona of a super hero to try and compensate for the fact that he couldn't save his wife, even though he was right there working in Seven World Trade Center."

"Right, right," Wilson said. "You told me, but I forgot his name." Wilson took a deep breath. "I…I lost Amber and that was really hard; but to be right there and watch the events unfold in front of you…" Wilson shook his head. "I can't imagine what that must have felt like." Wilson reached up and ran his hand down the back of Annie's head. "I'd love to have the chance to thank him one day for helping you."

"You may get the chance. I'm in contact with him. I got his e-mail address before I left Mayfield and we write to each other every few weeks. He's really pulled his life together and he might be coming to my concert." Wilson smiled at the excitement that was clear on Annie's face.

"I really hope he comes by," he said.

"Oh, Greg doesn't know. I haven't had the opportunity to mention it with everything going on. If Steve can make it to the concert, I want it to be a surprise." Wilson nodded as Annie got a very serious expression on her face.

"You have to promise me something," she said. "With all the things we talked about this morning, and anything else we may decide to add on to the agenda, under no circumstances are we to ever call this a 'bucket list.' Because I have just returned and I have no intention of kicking anything or going anywhere." Wilson was laughing as she rested her nose against his.

"You have my word," he said. "Aah…I know this is going to sound really corny, but the room we have…has a heart-shaped bathtub in it." Annie's eye opened wide and Wilson saw a definite twinkle there.

"Well, we are going to make sure we make good use of that," she said as she kissed her way along his neck. Wilson closed his eyes; he was surprised at how intently Annie was moving her lips and hands over him. He was finally able to form a rational thought and was about to suggest they go to the bedroom where they would have some more room to move around; then he realized that Annie had already undone his belt and unzipped his pants. Oh well, he thought as he let out a moan…good things can be accomplished in tight spaces…

"I don't believe I let you talk me in to this." House peeked over the edge of the backseat and looked out the rear window of his car.

"Oh, stop it," he said. "You act like you've never been caught watching the submarine races before." Lydia squirmed beneath House trying to get comfortable.

"As a matter of fact, I haven't. This is the first time I've ever done 'it' in the backseat of a car."

"Oops! Forgot what kind of naïve little vixen I'm dealing with. OK, the security voyeur is gone," House said as he took note of the disappearing tail lights of the patrol car.

"Greg, I think we ought to get pulled together before he comes back. I don't want to be caught like this," Lydia said indicating their partial state of undress. House settled back down to a hovering position over her; there was barely enough room for him to rest his elbows on the seat, but he managed to scrunch them in.

"You do realize we're already busted. All he had to do was take note of the license plate and call it in to the main security office; they will instantly know whose car this is." House smiled. "Guilt by association." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"You have a reputation to defend; I have one I'm trying to establish around here. Being caught like this is not part of what I want that reputation to be."

"Aww, what's the matter? The director of…whatever it is you're going to be directing…isn't allowed to have some nookie time with her boyfriend?"

"Not in the back of a car hidden away in the back of a parking lot!" she exclaimed. Lydia started to wriggle again. "Greg, I hate to break this up, but I really need you to move. And you know what I mean by move."

"Mmm…yes I do," he said with a wicked smile on his face.

"Greg! The seat belt buckle has been digging into my tush since we started! Please, it's really starting to hurt."

"Why didn't you say something sooner? The Kama Sutra has lots of other options we could have chosen." He placed his right hand on the top of the backseat, pushed himself off Lydia and on to the floor.

"Oh, that feels better and worse at the same time," she gasped. She looked to her right and saw House wincing.

"I know what you mean," he said. "I landed on the ice scraper for my windshield." Lydia cringed.

"It's summer, working on fall; why would you have an ice scraper in the back of the car?"

"It seemed like a good idea in the middle of winter," House said as he reached behind him and pulled the sharp, hard piece of plastic out. Lydia looked at him sympathetically. "Wanna kiss it and make it better?" he asked hopefully.

"We can tend to each other's wounds later. Right now I need to stand up and stretch," Lydia said as she readjusted her clothing.

"I may have to actually agree with you," House said as he leaned forward and opened the rear driver's side door. Using his arms, he slid toward the door frame and grabbed hold of the door. Pulling hard, he lifted himself upright. It took House a moment to steady his legs; he clutched his right leg and began to massage it gently.

"Are you alright?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah, just the usual problem," House replied. He silently cursed his damaged limb out, wishing for once he could do something the way normal men do. He turned and saw that Lydia was at the edge of the seat and about to stand up. House offered his hand to her; she took it and fell in to House's arms as he pulled her to a standing position with a little more force than was really necessary.

"Whoops!" Lydia said, laughing as her arms went around House and she held on for dear life.

"Got ya," he said into Lydia's ear, brushing his lips against her earlobe. He continued to kiss her ear until he felt her shiver in his arms and she pushed back away from him.

"Greg, you keep doing that, you know what's going to happen," Lydia said wistfully.

"I know what I hope will happen," he replied. "The car door is still open you know." Lydia shook her head.

"No, thank you. While that certainly was fun, for the life of me I cannot imagine why young people find that to be such an appealing place to do it."

"No tell motels are too expensive and harder to find than they used to be. And with so many families where both mom and dad work, there are a lot of empty houses during the day for a little afternoon delight. But there is still a chance of getting caught. Plus," House said wincing as he took a step toward the driver's door, "They're dealing with bodies that have twenty-five to thirty-five years less mileage on them than we have. Manipulating themselves in cramped spaces is a lot less of a burden." He opened the door and reached in to take his keys out of the ignition; the last thing they needed was to get locked out. "Want your water?" House asked Lydia.

"Yes, please." He picked up the water and his soda as well.

"I figured you'd need this after all that panting and screaming you did," he said, handing her the bottle with a smile.

"And it's all your fault," Lydia said returning his smile.

"So, let's see…there was the chair in an empty office at Mayfield, my bed, your bed, my shower, your shower, my couch, your couch…I tried for your dining room table, but you wouldn't let me…the backseat of my car…I guess the rocking chair is next on the list." Lydia almost choked as she tried to swallow a drink of water.

"No! No, no, no! I would never be able to relax and enjoy it." She sat down on the trunk of House's car and folded her arms. House sat down next to her.

"Never say never; I can think of a bunch of ways to help you relax." Lydia shot him a look.

"My Oma, my mother and I all rocked our babies to sleep in that chair! We nursed our children there!"

"And I'm just trying to continue the tradition," House protested. "Didn't you say I'm like an overgrown kid?" Lydia closed her eyes and facepalmed herself. House took note of her reaction. "I guess this means I'll have to buy one for my place that we can use," House said, pretending to pout and batting his eyes. Lydia was unmoved.

"I'll buy you one for Christmas," she said sarcastically. House rolled his eyes.

"Almost forgot about that little annoyance." He looked over and saw the look on Lydia's face. "Don't worry; I'll do the whole guy in the red suit who enslaves cheap midget labor. Never mind that he should be reported to the ASPCA for reindeer abuse." House cracked open his soda and took a swig. "I'm not going to shatter any dear childhood illusions for the kids, not the way mine were taken from me. You know little things like Mommy and Daddy will love you from the moment you're conceived and they'll only love you more and more as time goes by." House took another drink and could feel Lydia's eyes boring into him. He let out a long sigh. "Sorry; it's been a tough day and things with Scotty are getting to me. I never let cases bother me; well, rarely at any rate." He hopped down off the trunk. "Last week it was Hunter and the lousy way he treated his kid. The problem with that was mainly the fact that it was Hunter I was dealing with." House reached in through the open driver's window and snagged his cane. "Now Scotty and his parents. His father couldn't even be bothered to show his face around here; don't start me about the mother." House stood a few feet away from Lydia with his back to her.

"I know this case has been…difficult for you," Lydia began, "And I know a lot of it has to do with the way Scotty's mother is. She's doing nothing to protect her son, not from another person, but from a disease that's no fault of his own. You see a similarity to your mother sitting back and not helping you with your father's abuse; but not all moms are perfect, loving people. Some say 'Here, I've given you life, let me help you through the madness of this world.'" Lydia hopped down from the car. "Others say 'I've given birth to you, deal with things on your own,'" she said gesturing to House. "And still others will say, 'Since I carried you for nine months and gave you life, you will do what I say, exactly what I say and you will not question what I say,'" Lydia said pointing to herself. "It takes all types and we can't pick and choose who we get."

"Believe me, I never thought that we could pick out what happens to us like choices from a catalogue. Only a sadist would choose someone like Scotty's mother…or mine." House turned to Lydia. "I don't mean this as a criticism of your influence on me, but I'm starting to re-evaluate a lot of things from my past that I've managed to keep neatly tucked away till now. And since the lid has been ripped off and all the hungry moths have flown the coop, I'm getting a real good look at the gaping holes they've left behind." House was pacing as he spoke; he now returned to the car and leaned against it. "My father was never around, which was a relief; the thing is my mother was rarely around either. As long as she kept things quiet, I think my father gave her free rein to do whatever the hell she wanted, in return for making him look like the manly soldier who sired a son."

"But if she didn't want children, wouldn't she have made that clear before they got married?" Lydia asked. House grimaced.

"Like your parents tried to do to you, it was an arranged marriage. Both my maternal and paternal grandfathers were Marine bigwigs and damn it, their kids were going to marry and produce the next great line of military men. Instead they had me." Lydia dropped her head.

"They had so much to be proud of with you, even if it was in a different area of success than what they were hoping for. You have a brilliant mind…" she said.

"Which neither my father or mother could give a crap about. I got a bicycle for my eighth birthday; it was still in the box, unwrapped with no card and needing to be assembled. I asked my dad to help me put it together. His answer was, 'You're supposed to be a freaking genius, you figure it out.'"

"What did your mother say?"

"Not much…she was getting ready to go out to…" House looked at Lydia and sighed. "Sneaky little so and so that I am, I read my mother's diary on more than one occasion. It turns out the daughter and wife of two straight arrow soldiers was a top notch war protester who tried just about every type of drug and slept with any number of guys. My sperm donor is an unknown quantity. She doesn't think I know any of this; it's still her deep, dark secret." Lydia stood with her mouth hanging open; what she just heard didn't make sense with what House had told her about his background.

"What about the family friend? The minister? You told me you always thought he was you dad."

"He was always around," House said looking out over the parking field. "Reverend Bell would tell my father to stop yelling at me and that it was OK if I didn't want to be a soldier, I'd find some other important thing to do with my life; I was too smart not to." House looked at Lydia. "He's the only one who used to tell me I was smart. I put that bike together by myself; he's the one who taught me to ride it. He gave me my first Sherlock Holmes book." Lydia moved toward House and took his hand.

"So, in your mind, even though you knew your mom had been with other men, he was the one who was most like a father to you." House looked at her and nodded. Lydia started to chuckle. "I find it rather ironic that the person you felt closest to was a minister, considering your opinion on the subject of religion." House gave Lydia a look.

"Don't even head down that road," he warned. Lydia laughed as she leaned over to him, put her arms around House's shoulders and rested her head there.

"I'm sorry if I've stirred up all these bad memories," she said quietly. "It was certainly never my intention to make you unhappy." There was silence between them for a moment.

"You have made me unhappy in no shape, way or form. The fact that you are the amazing woman that you are has forced me to stop and think about who and what I am. I've allowed my parents' opinion of me to run and ruin my life for years. They thought I was a bastard and for years I've just lived up to that opinion. Bastards don't have friends, bastards are cynical curmudgeons, bastards don't fall in love," House looked at Lydia. "I've been lucky enough to fall in love twice in my life. I helped screw up the first time by being afraid because, like I said, bastards don't fall in love. I…I'm not afraid, not with you and I'm beginning to think I don't have to be afraid with the rest of the world." He saw the surprised look on Lydia's face, "I don't mean I'm going to throw my arms around everyone and sing 'Kumbaya.' Far from it. In my opinion, religion will always be for idiots…and Wilson's taste in music will always be favored by experimented upon lab rats." Lydia laughed.

"Watch that; you're including Annie in there, too."

"Yeah, how is it that she can play such beautiful, sophisticated classical pieces but get off on a song that compares the sun to a red rubber ball? Any kid in kindergarten knows the sun is yellow with some orange thrown in for a special effect." Lydia fell in to House's arms in helpless giggles which became worse each time she looked at the "What did I do?" expression on his face.

"Do me a favor," she said when she finally gained some composure. "Don't ever stop being House; I don't think I'd recognize you. But, I love the part of you that's Greg and I love the fact that you're letting more and more of that out for everyone to see and know. Because I think he's a wonderful man." House smiled and leaned down to give her a kiss; it was slow and gentle at first, but as they exchanged more and more kisses, things became more intense. Lydia slipped her hands under his shirt and he returned the gesture in kind, only to find her bra in the way.

"We shouldn't have bothered to get dressed," House whispered in her ear. Lydia let out a little cry and pushed away from him.

"We should have stayed at your place when we stopped by to pick up my laptop," Lydia said. House looked down at the ground.

"If we had stayed at my place to do what we did in my car, we'd still be at my place and we'd never make our way back here." House ran his hands up and down Lydia's back. "And I need to be here tonight."

"I know you do; I want to be here for Scotty and Slick and everyone else. This is my first case with you and I don't want to miss out on any part of it." House gave her a confused look as he went back to the car to sit and drink some soda.

"I don't follow your logic as to how this is your first case."

"Well," she said as she walked over to him, "You were already working on a case when I got here; Hunter's son wasn't a matter of finding a cure, but just a diagnosis…"

"Which you provided valuable assistance in helping to figure out," House said with a smile. Lydia knew he was busting her chops.

"Dancing around your living room to a Disney song is not standard medical procedure for solving a case."

"But you looked so cute…"

"What I mean is that I was here from the very beginning of you encountering the patient. I've watched how you directed the team, the decisions you've made as far as tests and treatment…"

"And you're the one who suggested that there was a two-pronged approach to the problem: the tumor and the aneurysm," House noted. "You're also the one who put Mallon in his place and called him out on the fact that he was afraid to take a chance and do the right thing to help the kid." Lydia shot House a look.

"You could have warned me he was the Chief of Neurology," she said shaking her head.

"No need to. It doesn't matter how many titles or letters come after your name. When it comes to treating a patient, if you're wrong, you're wrong. Besides," House said, "I was really proud of you." He looked at Lydia. "It took me awhile to figure that out." She looked at him curiously. "I've never been close enough to anyone to bother to feel pride in anything they've done. At least to me it seemed they were just living life the way you're supposed to; what's the big deal about that?" House looked off in the distance. "I'm realizing that there are a whole bunch of little things and a number of big things that happen in life that you have every right to be proud of in yourself…and you should be proud of certain other people in your life, too." House stood up off the car. "Because with few exceptions no one ever said they were proud of me; I didn't know what feeling pride toward another person felt like. How sick is that?" he asked disgustedly.

"It's not sick, it's sad that no one could tell you how proud they were. I'm surprised James or your team didn't say something when you got back from Mayfield…" House laughed.

"Are you kidding me? When I was brought in here after the crane collapse, before they even checked my pulse, I'm sure they ran all sorts of tests to see what I had in my system. And when it came back clean, they were probably trying to figure out who I switched samples with." Lydia shook her head.

"With everything you went through at Mayfield, with how long you stayed at Mayfield, how could they think that you'd go back again?" House walked over top Lydia and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Fraulein, I have to confess: I've been known to lie upon occasion." Lydia looked up at him from under her eyebrows.

"Upon occasion?" she repeated sarcastically.

"Hey, hey…whose side are you on?"

"Yours, of course; but I'm also a realist." She ran her hands along the top of his shoulders. "Greg, you've told me what happened with your leg, that no one believed you were really in pain. All joking aside, why didn't they think you were telling the truth?" House hopped up on his car trunk, laid his cane down next to him and rubbed his face with his hands.

"When Wilson and I met, I was attending a medical conference. When I met Stacy, I was at a conference and we organized a doctors vs. lawyers paintball tournament. I wasn't a social butterfly, but I tried to…mingle…I think the word would be." House scowled as he looked down at the ground. "The higher up in social status, the bigger your indulgences. Only like I've always said, I have a big appetite for things. So while they would do a few drinks, some pot or coke and be wasted, I could down a quart of whiskey, a bunch of pot, coke or whatever else was being floated around…and I was still the designated driver."

"Greg!" Lydia said truly shocked. "I knew you probably indulged in illegal things, but I never imagined you doing it in large quantity like that." House shrugged.

"Some people have a hollow leg, I have a hollow body. Why do you think I took so much Vicodin and still got no relief? I wasn't looking to get high; the damn stuff barely touched me. I kept taking it in larger and larger doses because I hoped at some point I'd find the amount that worked for me." He took a drink of his soda. "But my colleagues and associates didn't see it that way. They assumed I'd become an addict and rather than continue to take the chance of getting caught with illegal stuff, I was taking the Rx pad way out. Even after I had the infarction and they removed the chunk of muscle, they thought I was just looking to score,"

"But couldn't Stacy have intervened for you?"

"One, she was my girlfriend, whose side would everyone assume she would be on? And two…she couldn't act as an advocate for me; she didn't understand the medicine behind what was going on and relied on what Cuddy told her. As far as the rest of them go…once again, I kept them at arm's length and never let them in on what I was really going through. I suppose that's partially my fault."

"But no one has the right to tell you how much pain you're in or whether a method of pain relief is working or not! They have no idea what you're feeling."

"No, and that's one of the things that's been bothering the hell out of me about Scotty's case. He's been dealing with his problems since he was eight; worsening seizures, social stigmas piled on him because of them and his parents nowhere to be found to help him through it all. And that bitch has the nerve to decide which of his ailments is valid and which are not?" House said, his voice rising in anger. Lydia moved to him and put her arms around House to soothe him.

"Greg, calm down, please." She ran her hands over the back of his head and guided it down to her shoulder. "You're helping Scotty now. He's going to get better and heal with Slick in his life and Misty and her parents. You can't change his past for him, any more than I can fix yours or you fix mine. He's being given the chance for a better future. I know what a good feeling that is," Lydia said squeezing him tightly. House returned her embrace; they stood like that for a moment, then House picked his head up and looked at Lydia.

"I love you," he said. "More than I thought I'd be capable of loving someone." Lydia leaned in and kissed him several times.

"I love you, too," she said. "You make me so happy." House leaned in and kissed the top of her head as he played with her hair. His fingers dropped to the back of her neck and lingered there until she finally wriggled away a little so she could look at him.

"Greg…"

"Uh-oh, here we go." Lydia ignored him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"No. You gave me a choice," House said taking note of her expression.

"I'm trying to be serious," Lydia said.

"That phrase is a surefire way to start a conversation that isn't going to go well." Lydia shook her head.

"Just hear me out…"

"That's one of the other phrases…" Lydia put her fingertips up to his lips. "OK, go ahead," House said finally surrendering.

"I know that there is no way you will ever be totally pain free. I wish there was, believe me. But what if you could get more relief than you have now without the reliance on a controlled substance." House gave her a curious look.

"Dumbledore and Mary Poppins cook up something good to drink?" he asked.

"No, but a friend of Annie's and mine is in the medical profession; in fact he's a physician's assistant and a physical therapist." Lydia had House interested.

"Who is this guy?"

"Tom, the one who's brother fixed my rocker and refurbished the piano." House remembered Tom from their phone conversations when he made arrangements to have the repairs made; he had a dry wit that House could appreciate.

"So how does he work his magic?"

"Do you swim?"

"Yeah, but it's a little weird. The left side of me usually wins the race; the right side of me comes in dead last." Lydia was able to smile as she looked at House.

"Tom's a big believer in aqua therapy. He has found that the low impact/high resistance training to be very effective. I think one of the biggest differences for you will be that he believes in using medicines in combination. For instance, when you were on Vicodin, a pain reliever, what else were you on?" House looked taken aback.

"Nothing, what…?"

"No anti-inflammatory? Nothing like Neurontin or Lyrica to address the nerve pain?" House shook his head no; he was becoming more and more intrigued. "So no one has considered that there's been a low grade infection in there and perhaps you need a long term course of antibiotics? And I bet no one has considered the fact that you need an anti-depressant to help?"

"Of course I'm depressed; who wouldn't be with this kind of pain?"

"Tom had a patient who had his right leg amputated below the knee. Before seeing Tom, he was taking twelve Oxycodone a day. Tom worked with him for two weeks; more than that, Tom talked and listened to him. The patient now takes one Cymbalta and three Ibuprofen a day. He still has some pain in both his stump and phantom pain in the missing leg, but it's quite tolerable." House was now more than intrigued; he was on the verge of being impressed.

"So Tom is sympathetic to gimps?" House asked.

"Not just sympathetic; he's empathetic. Tom is a double amputee. His legs were crushed in a car accident sixteen years ago. They just pumped him full of Oxy and told him to live with it. He was unhappy and in pain and he took the bull by the horns, checked himself in to rehab and worked on finding other ways to help people like him." Lydia looked at House; she saw the shock and amazement in his eyes. She also saw the desperation of him wanting this glimmer of hope to be real.

"You believe me. You wouldn't be offering me up to your friend if you didn't think I was telling the truth." House's voice cracked as he said the words and pulled Lydia in for a hug.

"Yes…of course, I believe you," Lydia said gently. She ran her hands down his face. I don't know what happened with other people in the past, nor do I care. You've never given me a reason to doubt you." He held Lydia to him again and she could feel House's body begin to shake; Lydia just held him and let him cry.

"I've never had a reason in the past few years to be bothered trying to get help. I always thought that the pain was my penance for being a son-of-a-bitch all these years." House looked at Lydia. "But now I have something, I have a reason to not waste my time squalling around in pain. As a matter of fact, I have one big reason and two little ones." Lydia started laughing and crying at the same time. "I'll talk to Tom. I'll bring him my medical records right through the crane accident. And I'll answer his questions…honestly. I just hope this isn't all for nothing."

"This will be a lot of hard work, but…"

"Wait a second, who said anything about hard work? Last thing I knew, I was lazing in a swimming pool." Lydia laughed.

"I'm going to have to warn Tom that sometimes he'll be dealing with Greg and sometimes he'll be dealing with House."

"Good idea," House said with a smirk. Suddenly, his cell phone began to play "Down Under."

"They must be ready to take Scotty," Lydia said. House nodded as he answered the phone and headed for the driver's side door.

"Speak to me, oh bush baby," he said as he slipped behind the wheel. Lydia got in the passenger side.

"Mallon's going to have Scotty brought to the O.R. at midnight, about twenty minutes from now. I was heading over to scrub in," Chase said. "Thirteen's with them; are you coming in?"

"Wouldn't miss it; Lydia and I will be there in a few minutes."

"Good. Scotty wants to talk to you beforehand." House and Lydia looked at each other.

"Why?" asked House.

"Oh, I don't know; maybe because you're his doctor and he has some questions?"

"You're his doctor, too; I don't hear him asking you for any heart to heart chats."

"Maybe because I'm not old enough to be his father." Lydia put her hand up to her mouth to stifle a giggle as she saw House cringe.

"OUCH! That one hit right in the nuts." Chase laughed.

"I'll see you in a few." House ended the call and looked at Lydia who was still trying not to laugh.

"I don't see what you find so funny; you're old enough to be his mother."

"I just think it's sweet that he sees you as a father figure," she said as House started the car. "Both Scotty and Chase." House gave her a look as he put the car in reverse.

"Oh, before we head back in to the hospital, you're probably going to want these." Lydia looked over and saw that House was spinning her panties around on his finger.

"Greg!" she exclaimed as she grabbed them back. He put the car in drive.

"Nope. House."


	12. Chapter 12

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Twelve – "Mapping a Route"

By: purpleu

House opened his eyes and tried to adjust them to the darkened room. He knew he hadn't been asleep long, but he still had no idea what time it was. His back was to the clock on his nightstand as he and Lydia had fallen asleep spooning. The comfort the position provided gave him no reason to move; the pain in his leg did. It was the same as it had been every night for years now: lay in bed for hours, fall asleep from exhaustion, wake up and wait until it was light enough out to make some noise without too many complaints from neighbors. On some lucky mornings, he was able to catch a few more zzz's, but that wasn't always to be. That's why Wilson and his team found him on the chaise lounge chair in his office; a little bit of time with less pain meant the chance to try and catch up on rest.

Looking down at Lydia's sleeping form, he was so glad he revealed to her the circumstances behind his leg. Though some may fault her for her blind faith, there was no need to; he had told her the truth. She did seem a bit surprised at just how much he had indulged in illegal things, but she never flinched, never showed disdain or disgust; just love, caring and concern. He was so tempted to reach out and run his hand over her bare arm or any other part of her for that matter, but he wanted to let her sleep; no need for both of them to be awake. House lifted his right arm off of Lydia's torso and in a slow, controlled manner, rolled on to his back. He stifled a cry as he grabbed his leg and began to massage it. Damn, he thought, this guy Lydia wanted him to see had better be able to pull something out of his magic bag of tricks. While Tom certainly sounded like the right person to help him, he also sounded too good to be true.

House swung his feet on to the floor as he continued to rub his leg. Yesterday was a wild day, to be sure. Finding out about Lydia's financial status and the fact that her grandparents had owned his favorite bakery from his childhood was just the start. Realizing her leg was not cleaned out properly and needed to be opened up again, dealing with her ex and the crap he was pulling with the kids only added to things. Then learning that Slick was Scotty's uncle and of course, there was his bitchy ice queen mother. Moving on, Lydia figuring out what the problem was with Scotty's brain, acting as diplomat between the family, the surgeon and his team…oh, yeah and her being offered a chance at a job at the hospital. Quite the busy day.

"Are you all decent now?" House asked as he pulled into his parking spot.

"No thanks to you, yes," Lydia said trying not to laugh as she looked over at him. "What in the world were you going to do with them?"

"What most guys do when they score for the first time in their car is hang the retrieved prize from the rear view mirror."

"They do not!" exclaimed Lydia trying to get the image out of her head.

"They do, too," retorted House. "Of course, I was going to be different and wear them on my head as we walked in to the hospital, but I knew you'd have a fit, so I decided to be nice."

"It's a good thing you did," Lydia said folding her arms in front of her. She was fighting to keep from smiling but it was no use; the corners of her mouth were still upturned. House studied her for a moment and started to laugh. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"You. You're trying so hard not to smile and you're failing miserably."

"I am not." House gave her a look.

"Yes, you are; you're sitting there thinking about how I got them off and…" As House spoke, Lydia broke down in to helpless giggles.

"You are so bad," she said trying to regain her composure.

"That's not what you were saying a little while ago," House said with a lecherous tone to his voice. Lydia shook her head, then leaned over to kiss him.

"Ich liebe dich," she said as she kissed him several times.

"Ich liebe dich, auch," he replied in between smooches. She stroked the side of his face and closed her eyes.

"I hate to say this, but we have to get inside before they take Scotty to the O.R.; you wouldn't want to miss out on talking to him." House nodded in agreement.

"I just hope he's not asking for me because he's delusional." Lydia looked at him curiously. "He may be seeing the black shirt and think it's appropriate to offer me his confession." Lydia shook her head as she got out of the car.

"I don't think they have him that doped up yet."

"You never know; I know I'd want to be." House got out of the car and followed her in to the entrance plaza of the hospital; he was walking a few feet behind Lydia who turned and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, why?" Lydia stopped.

"You were slow getting out of the car and now you're walking ten steps behind me." House caught up with her.

"I'm just appreciating the view of your gorgeous ass in motion. I figure I might as well enjoy one last guilty pleasure before I have pay attention to less important things."

"Like brain surgery," Lydia said.

"Exactly; so mundane, so ordinary," House said in a dismissive manner.

"For you, maybe, not for Scotty," she noted.

"Scotty's going to be fine," House said. "I'll go in and give him the pep talk he's looking for and you can come in and play beautiful mother hen if that's what he needs. Mallon may be a jerk, but he knows what he's doing. And I trust Chase implicitly." They entered the hospital, signed in and headed to the elevators.

"You do know that it's more than a little obvious that Chase is your favorite," Lydia said. "Followed fairly closely by Thirteen." House had a pained expression on his face at Lydia's suggestion.

"What prompted that comment?" he asked as he pushed the button for the elevator.

"The way you said you trust Chase implicitly. You didn't need to make that point; you wanted to." She knows me all too well, House thought.

"If I had to turn the department over to someone tomorrow, I'm sure Foreman thinks he's the heir apparent. His ambitions, however lie with a three-piece suit not a lab coat." The elevator doors opened and House and Lydia entered the car. Lydia pushed two to take them to the I.C.U.

"So you don't think he would do a good job at running the department?"

"Well, no one could run it the way I do," House said immodestly. "It takes a special touch to royally piss off your employees and keep them coming back for more." Lydia shook her head and laughed. "Foreman is a damn good doctor," House continued. "He wouldn't be on my team if he wasn't. But I just don't think he has the kahunas to tell the administration to shove it when it comes to saving a patient. He'd rather say no from the top of the catbird seat." The elevator stopped and the doors opened onto the I.C.U. floor. Leaving the elevator, House and Lydia made their way down the hall toward Scotty's room.

"So you feel Chase would better handle the patients' interests?"

"I think he'd better balance the medicine and the diplomatic bull." He quickly looked at Lydia. "No offense intended."

"None taken," she replied as they arrived at Scotty's room. Thirteen was waiting for them outside.

"Hello," Thirteen said. "Get any rest?"

"We got the chance to lay down for a little while," House said glancing at Lydia. "How's he doing?" he asked indicating Scotty.

"Nervous, like anyone would be. I convinced Mr. and Mrs. Nelson to go down to the family waiting area near the observation room. I knew there was no way I'd get them to wait here or anywhere else that wasn't close to Scotty. I'm not going to even attempt to get Misty to leave; I'm leaving that up to Slick."

"How is Slick holding up?" Lydia asked. Thirteen looked in to Scotty's room. Slick was standing by his nephew's bed side, his hand on his Scotty's shoulder. Misty stood with him holding Scotty's hand.

"He's been fantastic at keeping everyone calm. He left for a little while to go home and grab a shower. When he came back, he brought food and coffee for everyone, even Chase and me." Lydia smiled.

"He's a good guy," she commented. She related to Thirteen how he ran and got a wheelchair for her before Scotty was even out of the ambulance on Monday night.

"That was a weird scene; here I am taking care of his nephew who had a couple of heart attacks and he's tending to my girlfriend who had blood gushing out of her leg. I think we were each taking care of the wrong patient," House noted.

"You each just grabbed someone and took care of them," laughed Thirteen. "Nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah, but if anyone's going to be grabbing her, it's me," House said pointing to Lydia. Thirteen shook her head.

"Let's see if we can get Slick and Misty to join Misty's folks. I have a feeling this is going to be tough." House nodded, reached over and slid open the door.

"Greetings one and all; ready to have a mind blowing experience?" As soon as he spoke, House wished he hadn't; Lydia, Thirteen and Slick felt the same. Misty broke in to tears the moment she heard House's words. He rolled his eyes and tried to smooth things over in his own Housian way.

"My bad. Forgot there was a meaningful emotional attachment happening in the room." Slick moved out of the way and let Misty get in closer to Scotty so she could hug him. Scotty didn't seem to react to what House said; he was more concerned with consoling his girlfriend.

"Hey, take it easy. You heard what Dr. House said earlier: the aneurysm isn't buried deep. It's sitting on the top of my brain. And the tumor is in a position that they can go through my nose to get at it. I'll only have a scar on the back of my head…and the one on my chest from having the bypass machine." Misty grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes.

"I don't give damn about you having scars! I just want you to be OK. You've gone through enough in your life; I don't want to see you suffer any more." If there was a better way to make him feel like a jerk for what he said, House couldn't think of it at the moment.

"Bed side manner isn't your strong point, is it?" Slick said to House quietly. He had wandered away from the bed to give Scotty and Misty a little space.

"Nope. And however pissed you are at me right now, it's nothing compared to the hell I'm going to get from those two," House said with a slight nod over his shoulder at Thirteen and Lydia. Slick raised his eyebrows.

"I think you'll catch more grief from Thirteen than Lydia."

"You just may be right."

"Guys, I just got a text; the orderlies are on their way to pick you up," Thirteen said to Scotty. Misty started to get choked up again.

"Babe, I'll be fine. I'll see you in a few hours…I promise the first thing I'll do is call you Audrey," Scotty said with a smile.

"Audrey?" Lydia questioned.

"When our high school did the musical 'Little Shop of Horrors', Misty played the lead female character, Audrey. I played Seymour, the male lead."

"That must have been cool," Thirteen said.

"We've done a lot of plays and musicals together," Misty said.

"And we'll do a lot more," Scotty said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Misty said as she leaned down to hug him. After a moment, she straightened up and wiped her eyes.

"Come on; I'll take you and Slick down to where your parents are waiting," Thirteen said. After one more hug, Misty moved away from the bed and let Slick get near.

"OK kid, don't worry about anything; you're in good hands," he said.

"I know," Scotty said taking his uncle's hand. Slick leaned down and gave Scotty a hug.

"I'm here for you Scotty; you'll never have to worry about that again. I promise," he said. He stood up and wiped eyes.

"I love you, Uncle John."

"Love you, too, kid." He squeezed Scotty's hand and walked over to Misty and Thirteen.

"We'll be there in a little bit," Lydia said. Thirteen smiled and nodded to Lydia as they walked by; however daggers flew out of her eyes as she went past House. Slick caught sight of it and managed not to laugh.

"Good luck," he whispered to House.

"Thanks," House said with a quick glance at Lydia. He knew she probably was not to thrilled with him right now. "Hey," he called out. The group hesitated at the doorway as House walked over to them. "Don't worry about your boyfriend. I'll be observing the whole thing and if I see one stitch out of place, I'll make them start over." Misty was actually able to laugh.

"Thank you, Dr. House." She stood on her toes and gave a kiss to his cheek that clearly embarrassed him. The embarrassment quickly faded as he realized the brownie points he just scored with everyone in the room. The trio left and House moved over to Scotty's bed side.

"I'll wait for you out in the hall," Lydia said to House.

"Ms. Strohman, I'd like you to stay if you don't mind," Scotty said. Lydia and House both looked startled at the request, but Lydia complied and walked back over to House's side.

"Of course I don't mind," she said.

"Thanks. Do you know where the bag that had my clothes in it is? The ones I was wearing when I was brought to the hospital." House and Lydia were really confused now.

"I think the bag's in the closet," she said. "Yes, here it is."

"Great. I need you to do me a favor, Dr. House." House prided himself on being able to logically reason situations through; but whether he was worn out from the long day or what, House didn't know what this kid wanted. "Ms. Strohman, there should be a small bag in my left front pants pocket." Lydia pulled out a small black plastic bag. "That's it." Lydia replaced the clothing bag in the closet and walked the black bag over to Scotty. He took it from her and removed a small box that was inside. House immediately recognized it as coming from a jeweler. "Sunday made three years that Misty and I have been going out; it was also seven years since we met. I wanted to give this to her then, but I had to work at Joe's on Sunday and wait to get paid before I could pick this up. They were really nice over at Contempo Jewelry; they let me pay this off a little bit at a time." House shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Look, I know this is none of my business, but aren't you two a little young to be doing this? It's a pretty big deal you're getting yourself involved in," Lydia was surprised that House didn't go off on a rant bashing marriage in general.

"It's not an engagement ring," Scotty said. "Although a few years from now, I hope to turn it into one. I just want to get my feet on the ground so we can have a good life together. We've been through enough hell due to my problems and I can't change that; but I can do everything in my power to make sure our future is better than the past. That's what this is all about," he said as he handed the box to House. "Open it." House hesitated, not sure how he would react. Lydia looked over his shoulder as he finally caved in and opened the lid.

"Oh, how pretty," Lydia said. The box held a ring that had three stones set in brushed gold: two sapphires and a light blue stone Lydia recognized as an aquamarine. The stones weren't large, perhaps a quarter carat each, but it was stunning none the less.

"They're really supposed to be diamonds; that's what a promise ring is supposed to be. But I couldn't afford that, so they redesigned it with less expensive stones. The sapphires are Misty's birthstone, the aquamarine is mine."

"Why is it called a promise ring?" House asked. "Not that I can't think of a whole bunch of ad campaigns the jewelry industry came up with all on my own." Lydia nudged House and gave him a look.

"It's the idea that you remember all the times from your past together, you celebrate the joys you have in the present, and you look forward to the promise of a wonderful future." Scotty looked down and shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose that sounds kind of like a commercial, but I really feel it describes Misty and me."

"I think Misty's a very lucky young lady," Lydia said smiling. Even House thought it was a really sweet gesture, although he wouldn't say it out loud.

"What's the favor you need?" he asked.

"No offense to the hospital, but I didn't want to leave that here while I was in surgery and no one was in the room. I wanted to make sure it was safe."

"Why not give it to your uncle? He seems to be a trustworthy guy," noted House. Scotty laughed.

"I trust him, believe me. It's just that after what happened between him and my aunt, I think he's more than a little cynical. If everything goes OK, I'll take that back from you and give it to Misty. If something goes wrong with the operation, I'd like the two of you to give it to her, let her know what the ring means." Lydia was as taken aback as House clearly was.

"Scotty, I'm sure your uncle…"

"Why us?" House asked interrupting Lydia. Scotty turned from House and looked out his window in to the darkness.

"Slick was the first person to believe me when I talked about the Synesthesia and the seizures. You were the second." He turned his head back toward House. "I trust you," he said shrugging his shoulders. "I know it was probably easy for you to figure out the Synesthesia; Misty looked you up online…you're famous around the world. You're a great doctor. But even someone as smart as you could have just written me off…but you didn't."

"No reason to; you were clearly presenting with symptoms consistent with a legitimate medical syndrome. Your problem is that you were being taken to moronic doctors who were less than competent. And I have a feeling that was no accident." Scotty slowly nodded his head in agreement. "As far as your diagnosis, you can thank the lady standing to my left." House glanced at Lydia. "She's the one who came up with proposal that you had two aliens lurking in your head and that they were two different species. We just did the tests to confirm and you were off on the fast track to the O.R."

"Here I've been calling you Ms. Strohman when I should have been saying Dr. Strohman. I'm so sorry; I meant no disrespect."

"I'm not a doctor," Lydia said reluctantly. "I was studying medicine when I left to take care of a family emergency."

"Family can really mess you up sometimes," Scotty said ruefully. He looked at House and Lydia. "I never had a real good example of what a relationship should be like when I was growing up. My parents are married on paper only. Misty's parents are great; I'm so glad she has them to lean on."

"I think you both can count on them," said Lydia. "Anyone can see how much they love you." Scotty smiled.

"That's why I want to trust you guys with the ring; it's so obvious how you two feel about each other, how much you respect each other. We've always said that love is respect taken to the highest level…and you two are the embodiment of that. At least to Misty and me. So…if something goes wrong and I don't get to give her the ring myself, I know I'll have picked the right people to act in my behalf." Lydia had taken ahold of House's hand as Scotty spoke; she was now squeezing it tightly and fighting off tears. She could tell that even House was moved by Scotty's words and opinion of them.

"You know if I hold on to this ring I'm going to feel like my last name should be 'Baggins'," House said. Lydia shook her head.

"You're way too tall to be a hobbit," she said with a smile. Lydia looked at Scotty. "We'll be glad to take care of this until we can return it to you. There's only one person who should be giving this to Misty and that's you. So just relax and let the doctors and the staff do their jobs and you'll be fine." Lydia heard voices outside the room and turned to look. "It would seem your chariot is here." House turned and saw the orderlies had arrived with a stretcher. Lydia stepped toward Scotty's bed and took his hand in hers. "I'll be seeing you when all is said and done. And thank you so much for your kind words; they meant a lot." Lydia leaned over and gave Scotty a kiss on top of his head. "I'll be in the hallway," she said to House. He nodded and watched her as she left the room.

"Ms. Strohman really is a wonderful person," Scotty said, the admiration evident in his voice. "How long have you been married?" House's head snapped around and he looked at Scotty with disbelief.

"Why would you think that we were married? I thought you said we looked happy together." Scotty laughed.

"Sorry, didn't realize I was hitting on a touchy subject. I can't wait till Misty and I can get married." House scowled.

"After the screwed up example your parents gave you, why would you want to venture down the same road?" he asked.

"Because I want to do it right. I want to be able to say I succeeded where my parents failed. Plus it would make both Misty and me really happy." House looked down at the floor as he considered Scotty's words. "Dr. House can I ask you a personal question?"

"I may not answer it, but go ahead."

"I have the feeling that you really understand where I'm coming from when I talk about the way my parents treated me…how do you do it?" How do you learn to deal with them rejecting you?" House could tell both by the desperation in Scotty's voice and the rising numbers on the monitor that this was a deeply hurtful topic to the kid. House understood the sentiment completely.

"One, just keep reminding yourself you're not as much of a bastard as they make you out to be. And two," House said as he heard the orderlies open the door, "Having an incredible woman be in love with you goes a long way to negating all that negative crap that's been flung at you over the years."

"Yeah, yeah it does," Scotty said nodding his head in agreement.

"Scott Andrews?" one of the orderlies asked.

"Here!" House said and went to hop up on the stretcher. The orderly looked at him like he was nuts. "Couldn't fool you, could I?" House said. Getting no reaction from either guy, House walked over to the bed. "I'm going to let these two do their job. Meet you for a couple brews in a little while." Scotty laughed and held his hand up in a fist pump. House returned the gesture.

"Thanks, Dr. House." House nodded and left the room. Looking to his left and then his right, he finally spotted Lydia several feet down the hall talking to one of the nurses.

"Code Blue I.C.U. 3! Code Blue I.C.U. 3!" The nurse went rushing past House as he breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't Scotty.

"Well, there go a few more gray hairs," Lydia said as House joined her.

"What gray hairs? You don't have any that I've noticed."

"Were you looking for them?" House ran the back of his hand down Lydia's cheek.

"Nope, you give me much better things to look at. C'mon, we'd better get to the waiting area and make sure everyone is still relatively calm." They walked down the elevators and House pushed the call button. "Do me a favor, before I do something to make me derelict in my duties." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the black plastic bag that contained the ring box. He handed it to Lydia." Keep that in your pocketbook; I'll feel more responsible if it's with you."

"It is a beautiful ring," she said, "Even if the sentiments that the jewelers put on it seem a little forced. If the ideas actually do apply to the couple it's OK."

"I'm just glad the jeweler was willing to change out the stones for him and didn't put forward any of this 'A diamond is worth your life's savings' crap," House noted.

"I'm a bit of a traditionalist," Lydia said. "I don't care for diamonds; however the only time I think they're right, is for an engagement ring." The elevator doors opened and they entered the car.

"What floor?" Lydia asked.

"Sixth," House answered. "I hope you hocked the one nitwit gave you and got good money for it…or did it come out of a Cracker Jack box?"

"He never gave me an engagement ring. He just said 'Let's get married.' and I said 'OK.' We didn't go on a honeymoon either, but that was my doing; I didn't want to be away from Annie."

"Can't imagine your ex was too upset over that." House looked to his left, away from Lydia. "The kid asked me how long we've been married."

"What!" Lydia exclaimed as the elevator doors opened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound the way it did." They left the elevator and walked down toward the waiting area.

"That's OK, I had about the same reaction. I asked him why he thought we were married when he said we looked happy." Lydia gave House a look.

"That's not quite the reaction I had in mind; although that's exactly the reaction I pictured you having." House smiled but said nothing as they rounded the corner and entered the waiting room. Misty and her parents were occupying several of the chairs available including one of the loungers; Thirteen and Slick were nowhere to be seen.

"Any word yet, Dr. House?" Mrs. Nelson asked nervously. She was sitting next to her daughter on the couch.

"They just brought him down. It'll be a little while before they start," he said.

"I was thinking of heading down to the cafeteria and getting some coffee," Lydia said. "Can I get something for anyone?"

"Beat you to it," a voice behind her said. Slick and Thirteen came in carrying trays of coffee. "We got them all black and grabbed a bunch of creamers and sugars," Slick said.

"And the local Dunkin' Donuts just made a delivery," Thirteen said holding up a box. "Slick picked up some Munchkins for us."

"Oh, I couldn't eat," Misty said holding her stomach.

"I never have that problem," said House as he opened the box.

"Me either," Slick said. "In fact I tend to eat more when I…" Slick caught himself before he said the word 'nervous.' "When there's a lot going on."

"Thanks. Between this and the sandwiches earlier, you're really keeping us well fed," Mr. Nelson said.

"My pleasure; can't have anyone keeling over." Slick gave Misty a direct look. She picked up one of the circular treats and popped it in her mouth. "Much better," he said.

"You missed it," House said. "That was your cue to stick your tongue out at him." Misty held a napkin up to her face so as not to be rude as she laughed. For the moment the mood had considerably lightened in the room. Even House managed a slight smile as he exchanged glances with Lydia. Then his and Thirteen's pagers went off.

"They're starting," House said. He quickly left the room so as to avoid Misty's reaction to the news; he had his own feelings which were making him very uncomfortable, he didn't need anyone else's. A few short strides and he was in the observation room overlooking the operating theater. He saw the surgical teams were all ready to go. The cardio-thoracic team would start things off by getting Scotty on the bypass machine to protect his heart and lungs. Next would be Mallon, the neurosurgeon and his team, where Chase was assisting. They'd start with the aneurysm, go to the tumor in the frontal lobe through the nasal cavity; then the cardio team would remove him from the bypass machine. House let out a sigh. No problemo, he thought sarcastically.

"Have they actually started?" House turned and saw Lydia coming toward him. He glanced back down in to the O.R.

"They're just about to open his chest." Lydia stood next to him and watched the action down below. House began to fidget.

"Are you sure you want to be here for this? It isn't going to be like a five-year-old's skinned knee you know." Lydia rolled both her head and her eyes as she turned to look at House.

I may have only pre-med, but I did get the chance to see both operations and autopsies. Besides, do you have any idea how nasty a skinned knee can be? Especially when it's your kid screaming in your ear, deafening you and reverberating their voice around in your head? It takes a strong stomach," Lydia noted.

"If you're trying to endear me to the concept of parenthood, you're doing a lousy job. Besides Cuddy forced me to do enough hours in the clinic with all those screemy-meemy little darlings." He looked at Lydia and saw that she was frowning.

"Why don't you sit down with the others? You don't need to see this."

"I can handle it. It's just been a while," she said, carefully watching as the surgeons opened up Scotty's chest.

'How much do you remember of your internal anatomy?" House said after they fully exposed the heart.

"Most of it I think," Lydia said. She was right, for she named the different exposed areas correctly and provided an accurate narrative for Scotty being hooked up to the bypass machine. House was pleased; she hadn't been exposed to any live action in over twenty years; she hadn't lost her touch.

"House?" He turned to see Thirteen and Slick standing in the doorway. "Slick wants to know if he can come in and observe."

"As long as he knows the password."

"Sarsaparilla," Slick called out.

"I'm sorry that was last week's. Please try again." Slick laughed as he and Thirteen entered the room. Slick stood on House's right; he could hear Slick draw an audible breath in as he looked down on his nephew's open chest.

"He's attached to the bypass machine," House commented. "That went through without a hitch." Slick nodded.

"I went through med school like every other doc," he said, "but endocrinologists don't deal with hamburger surgery too much."

"Plus this involves someone you care very deeply about," said Lydia. "It changes the way you view the situation."

"It certainly does."

House knew that it was especially hard on Slick; he still hadn't forgiven himself for allowing Cindy, otherwise known as Dragon Lady, to cause a rift between the two of them. Scotty obviously was willing to let things go and forgive his uncle; it was Slick who was carrying a weight around on his shoulders. House was able to dismiss such feelings as a waste of time, but he was aware that not everyone could reason their way out of feeling that way.

"Exposing the medulla oblongata," said Chase. After a few minutes, House could look down and see the offending blood vessel and watched Chase do the work; he was only supposed to be assisting. It was annoying to House to see Mallon just standing by; if any area in that region was even nicked, it would affect Scotty's involuntary functions such as breathing and heartbeat. This would definitely be a problem thought House sarcastically.

He watched as Chase clamped off the vessel on either side of the aneurysm and lifted the blood vessel away from the brain tissue; he made the incisions to remove the problem area. The O.R. Nurse quickly and carefully suctioned off the blood that spilled out as the aneurysm was removed.

"Not a moment too soon that we got that out of there" noted Mallon. _We? _House thought incredulously, don't you mean Chase? House knew that when most doctors got their turn as department head, their egos kicked to overdrive, his own included; Mallon took the prize.

"Excuse me Ms. Strohman," said Mr. Nelson. "Your cell phone was ringing. You had left on the table in the waiting room." He held out her phone to her.

"Who would be calling at this hour?" she wondered aloud. She looked at the phone. "It's my lawyer." She looked at House with a mixture of fear and concern. "I'll be right back." She hurried out of the observation room.

"Don't tell me that her ex is giving her trouble with the settlement." Thirteen said.

"With that jerk, anything is possible," said House shaking his head. "He has some nerve demanding that Lydia buy her kids' custody from him."

Slick looked at Thirteen with raised eyebrows.

"He tried to do what?" Slick asked in disbelief. Thirteen explained how Lydia's ex was using their children as a bargaining chip in the financial negotiations in their divorce.

"Where does this creep have the kids now?"

"Where most rattlesnakes live, Arizona," House said. "She'll get them on Friday; whether that will be continuing shared custody or he'll give up his parental rights will depend on whether the price is right."

"Does Lydia have to go and pick them up there?" inquired Slick.

"No; the Swamp Monster is bringing them here," said House as he watched the activity in the O.R. with greater intensity.

"Want to have a hand with the welcoming committee?" asked Slick as he pounded his fist into his left hand.

"Thanks, but I've been devising proper welcoming and departing gifts for the guy," said House.

"Ooh I would not want to be the Swamp Monster once you hang him out to dry," Slick said laughing.

"No, you do not want to be," Thirteen said joining him in his laughter. "There was one time when he…" Thirteen's words were interrupted by a loud, high-pitched noise from the hallway.

Slick looked over at House.

"Was that a good noise or a bad noise"?

"Don't know," House said as he took a step toward the door.

"Suction!" House spun around and returned to the glass window that separated the observation room from the operating theater.

"I'll go check on Lydia," Thirteen said as she hurried out of the room.

She knew that House would be too distracted by Scotty's surgery to deal with Lydia properly.

"Moron…he clamped off the blood vessel too close to the aneurism and didn't leave himself enough slack to pull the two ends of the artery together. It cause blood leakage into the lobe; it looks like he's got it under control."

"Now I see why Mallon is having Chase do this part of the surgery," Slick said.

House nodded. "This guy has the habit of taking the credit for everything that goes right during an operation and blaming everything that goes wrong on whoever is assisting him."

"Sounds familiar." House glanced at Slick as Chase finished joining the cut ends of the blood vessel.

"While we're waiting for the second act, mind answering a few questions?" House asked. Slick shrugged.

"Not doing anything else besides drinking coffee and getting a few new gray hairs," he replied. "Fire away."

"How come you're nephew's last name is Andrews but yours is McNamee? At least that's how you introduced yourself the other night in the ambulance. Or were you just so thrilled to be meeting the guy who flattened Hunter's ass that you forgot your name?" Slick laughed. "No I was impressed, but I was still in my right mind. Pete and Joe are my half-brothers. Their dad died when they were young; my dad was mom's second husband. My parents wanted my dad to adopt them, but Pete and Joe were against it. It really broke my dad's heart; they got along well and treated them no differently than he did me. They were like his own." House looked down at Scotty as Chase began to close the incision on the back of his head.

"So when did the great divide occur? I have a feeling it centered around either the brother's death or Scotty's illness. Maybe even both."

"It was a combination of things plus my run in with Hunter was a part of it too."

Slick closed his eyes as he took a drink. House gave him a moment as the memory clearly upset Slick. "I had a patient who had Crohn's disease and she was the most difficult person I've ever worked with. She wouldn't take the medicine that I prescribed or follow the proper diet I gave her. Yet each visit, she'd come in and complain that she wasn't feeling any better. Eventually I sent her to a gastroenterologist because she had developed divertculitis. She continued the same pattern of behavior with him. Surgery became her only option, but she was in such bad shape that she didn't survive the operation."

"Reposition the patient for the frontal lobe procedure." Both House and Slick responded to the sound of Chase's voice, and peered down at the operating table as a flurry of activity signaled that the next stage of the operation was getting ready to begin.

"One down, one to go," noted House. He glanced at the door wondering why Thirteen hadn't returned; he hoped Lydia's ex wasn't pulling any crap with her. The stunt he did with the kids was bad enough for Lydia, she didn't need any more stress.

"You seemed to have been pretty far removed from any direct blame in the situation," House said. "Saying that you were even remotely connected with the woman's death is like saying a water molecule sunk the Titanic. If you want to be obsessive and drag it back far enough in the time continuum, you might be able to make a hook up; but that would be really pushing it."

"And push it he did," Slick said, frowning as he watched the nurses and attendants manipulate Scotty so he was flat on his back. "It seems I was negligent in not sending her to specialist sooner and following her more closely."

"What did they expect you to do?" asked House. "Cook all her meals, feed them to her and shove the pills down her throat? That would be taking the doctor/patient relationship to a whole new level; one I certainly don't aspire to."

"This lady would even find a way to screw that up. She would see me once a week, fill the script for the pills, then throw them away. Never mind that she stopped at Taco Bell on the way home and get a double everything; she was a widow who lived alone so his family knew nothing. In court, Hunter said I should get more aggressive in notifying her family about her condition. Hasn't he ever heard of HIPPA laws?"

"He sure as hell does now," House said. He gave Slick s brief summary of his history with Hunter and what happened last week. "Everyone says I was insane for the lengths I went to, but I wasn't about to train a new team, look for a new best friend or subject Lydia to any of his vengeance. Oddly those things are important to me."

"It's not odd at all, especially in reference to Lydia; Malcolm Hunter cost me my wife and child." House had been taking note of how Mallon was directing the equipment for the next stage of the operation. Now he turned to face Slick.

"How did he do that?" Slick let out a long sigh and looked down at Scotty as he began the story of his unfortunate dealings with Hunter and their aftermath.

"Hunter was asking for an amount of money from me that was almost equal to the other doctors, which was ridiculous since none of us did anything wrong. Because I always had my patients sign in on a digital pad that was linked directly to my main computer, I was able to prove that I did follow the patient closely, the jury only gave her estate a very small judgment from me; but the whole thing was extremely stressful. At the beginning of everything, my wife, Alicia found out she was pregnant. We had waited about five years to start a family so I would have time to establish my practice, then Alicia had trouble conceiving. Despite that, the pregnancy went along well." He closed his eyes. "Then in the fifth month, she started to experience cramping and spotting; needless to say she miscarried.

Alicia blamed it on the case with Hunter; she said I didn't protect her enough, that I should have just paid the family off since I was obviously wrong."

"Let me guess, she had no interest in medicine," House said.

"No, but not because she wasn't smart," Slick said quickly defending his ex. "She was a CPA; in fact she used to look over the shoulder of my regular accountant to make sure everything was on the up and up. But when it came to my line of work…she knew I was good at what I did and she had respect for me; all that didn't matter when she miscarried and she blamed it on me. That bastard took everything from me; it was at that point that Cindy started to put a wedge between Scotty and me. She eventually banned me from the house and forbid me from coming near Scotty. I was at such a low point that I closed down my practice and stopped any work connected with medicine. After a while, I realized I missed it too much to stay away. I took the necessary course to qualify as a paramedic and here I am." Slick was silent for a moment.

House could sense that that Slick was doing his best to control any outward show of emotion, an effort he could relate to.

"The other night when I realized who you were I misspoke; I said it was a pleasure to meet you. It was actually a privilege to meet the man who stood up to Malcolm Hunter and won." House felt incredibly awkward at what he thought was heartfelt praise. If it was being offered by a patient or a colleague, House could easily dismiss it with a smart assed comment. But he oddly had more respect for Slick than to brush off his comment and gesture with a flippant remark; besides respecting him, House was comfortable with him, enjoyed his company and felt Slick understood House's point of view. Slick was becoming a…friend? House tried to shake off the idea and instead chalked it up to being overtired as he grasped Slick's hand and returned his gesture.

"House?" Thirteen appeared at the door. "I think you should come talk to Lydia." House winced and glanced into the operating room.

"They're moving along pretty quickly; he's about to snare the tumor. Call out to me if he mentions whether it's encapsulated or not. It won't be definitive proof that it's benign, but it'll be a strong indicator."

"Misty and her folks were asking how things were going; I'll go tell them. Be back," Thirteen said to Slick. House and Thirteen walked out into the hallway; Thirteen peeled off to the right when they got to the waiting room so she could talk to Misty and her parents. House paused after a few steps;

He saw the sad figure of Lydia a few feet in front of him. She was leaning up against the wall with her arms folded across her chest and her head bent down. He let out a deep sigh; several shots of whiskey were going to be needed when they got home.

"Hey, Fraulein," House said as he approached. The traces of tears were evident in Lydia's cheeks; it was the last thing House wanted to see for many reasons, some of them selfish. He had enough of emotional displays for one day.

"Hi, how's Scotty doing?" Lydia asked as she wiped her eyes with her hands.

"Better than you are I'd say." Lydia waved her hand. "I'll tell you what happened and you tell me. My lawyer got a call tonight from Ben's lawyer; the impatient idiot made a counteroffer to his original demand before I even got a chance to make my alternate offer. He wants 'his' half of the money we got from the sale of the house…plus fifty thousand dollars," House looked confused.

"Fifty …wait wait, didn't he want the house plus …"

"One hundred fifty thousand.

That's not even the best part," Lydia said with a smile. "Normally there is a thirty day waiting period after he relinquishes his parental rights; but since the first is Monday that would mean that he would have to pay me the next month's child support. God forbid he should have to do that. So he is signing a waver that says I will have full custody of the children at one minute after midnight on Saturday. Ben will be out of our lives forever at that moment!" Lydia grabbed House in such a ferocious hug that it sent him staggering backward several steps, but he didn't mind. What bothered him more was that between the two of them, Lydia and Thirteen managed to put one over on him. "I'm so happy, you have no idea."

"Not nearly as happy as I'll be when I figure out how to get back at you two fembots for messing with me," House said looking toward the waiting room where Thirteen stood with an evil grin on her face.

"Did someone say my name?" she asked sarcastically.

"Dr. House…it's encapsulated," Slick said as he took a step out of the observation room.

"First step toward good news," House noted. He looked at Thirteen. "Here's your shot at redemption; take them down to the waiting area near recovery," he said referring to Misty and her parents. "Talk to Chase and see which one of you is going to cover overnight."

"I talked to him before he scrubbed…I'll take the overnight and let him get some rest." House nodded and became aware of Slick standing in the doorway still.

"Chase wants to know if Wilson should be listed as the attending on the biopsy," he said.

"Yeah; last time I checked Wilson was still practicing Oncology, even if he does now spend most of his time gazing at the mahogany paneled walls in his ivory tower," House said wryly. "Oh, by the way; around here, doctors who have earned any kind of respect get called by just their last name or a nickname," he said glancing at Thirteen. So I'm House not _Dr._ House; she's Thirteen," he said nodding to his left. Got it, McNamee?"

"Sure, but I'll answer to Slick; it's what my friends call me." House hesitated for a second, then looked down at the floor.

"If that's what works for you, fine by me," House answered. Slick smiled and returned to the observation room to let Chase know what House's reply was. He turned to Thirteen. "Lydia and I are going to head to recovery; I'll meet you there." He took Lydia's hand and started down the hall to the far elevators; they would let them out closer to the waiting area.

"Hey, House," Slick called out. "Mind if I ride with you?" House and Lydia stopped.

"You'll be cramping my style with Fraulein, but why not?" Slick hurried up to join them.

House saw that Lydia was walking with a literal bounce in her step.

"If you start skipping down the yellow brick road, I'm going to drop kick Toto over the rainbow." Lydia ignored House and addressed Slick instead.

"My phone call with my lawyer went very well," she said. "I'm floating on a cloud right now." She filled in the details as they rode the elevator.

"Sounds great; congratulations," he said as the elevators doors opened. They joined the others in the hallway. It wasn't long until Scotty was brought down with Chase following right behind him.

"He's doing great," Chase said. "Both the tumor and the aneurism came out cleanly and he had no trouble coming off the bypass machine." Misty, her parents and Slick thanked Chase profusely before he said his goodbyes and left to get some rest.

"I'll be staying here with you; they'll page me when Scotty wakes up," Thirteen told the Nelsons.

"I need to get something from my car and then I'll be staying with you, too. Can I get anyone anything?" Slick asked. Everyone indicated they were fine.

"Well, we are going to be heading out to get some sleep; we'll see you in the morning," Lydia said to all in the waiting area.

"Make that late morning," House said making no attempt to stifle a yawn. The trio walked back to the elevators. After the doors closed, Slick cleared his throat nervously.

"I wanted to…um…let you know something," he began, "Not that you'd probably care, but…" House and Lydia both looked at him with confusion.

"It's too late to be playing 'Wheel of Fortune', so fill in the blanks for me," House said. Slick let out a sigh.

"I asked Thirteen to have lunch with me tomorrow…strictly platonically." He looked down. "When I lost my wife and baby, and Scotty was ripped away, I withdrew from everyone and everything. I'm trying to rejoin the human race; I could use a few friends." He looked at House. "I know all about her batting from both sides of the plate and I couldn't care less. And she told me about her Huntington's Disease. It all doesn't matter to me. I think she has a wicked sense of humor, she's intelligent and she's fun. For once, I'd like to talk to someone whose voice is an octave above mine."

"So you're asking my permission to hit on one of my employees?" asked House.

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"I think it's a great idea; she's a nice person," Lydia said.

"As long you know what you're getting yourself into, be my guest," House said with a smirk. "Just remember," as the elevator doors opened, "that the places she likes to hang out in are lacking in rest room facilities for little boys…or big ones for that matter." Slick thought over House's comment as the three walked through the lobby and out the front doors of the hospital.

"Guess I'll have to make sure to take care of business before I leave the house." He smirked.

"As long you're OK with her liking the Grand Canyon as well as a redwood tree, you'll be fine."

"Lydia gave House a look."

"I'm good," Slick said. "I told you: just as friends."

"Oh I forgot to sign out," Lydia said. "I'll be right back." She turned to go back into the building.

"Scribble something on the line with my name," House called after her.

"OK." She went over to Slick. "Goodnight; see you later this morning." Lydia gave him a peck on the cheek and then hurried into the hospital. The two men watched her walk away.

"You are one hell of a lucky man," Slick said admiringly.

"Yep. Wish I could say she was just as lucky." Slick smiled.

"From what I can tell so far, I'd say she was pretty damn lucky, too." He held out his hand. "Go home and get some rest, House." House was still amazed at the ease he felt with shaking Slick's hand.

"You do the same," he said as he returned Slick's gesture. "Goodnight, Slick."

"Goodnight, House." Slick headed off to his car. A moment later, House became aware of Lydia's presence next to him.

"Slick's a real nice guy," she said as she took House's hand.

"Yeah, he is," House said as they went to his car. The mystery of why House thought so too would have to wait until after he got some sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Thirteen – "Rest Area"

By: Purpleu

House took a sip of coffee from the mug sitting on his nightstand and smiled. He then started in on the cinnamon chip muffins Lydia had made earlier that morning. While both were a pleasant surprise, Wilson's phone call at eight AM was not. House realized it was necessary though; finding out that Lydia will be meeting with the Board of Directors today, a day earlier than planned, and then with the State Board tomorrow was a shock.

"Is the coffee OK?" Lydia asked as she walked into the room; she had already showered and was dressed in a beige linen business suit.

"Absolutely acceptable," House answered. Lydia shook her head as she sat down on the bed.

"Well I hope you find the muffin equally acceptable," she said.

"Probably not," House said, wincing as he put his mug back on the stand next to him. Lydia caught sight of the expression on his face.

"You haven't had your ibuprofen yet," she said getting up and heading for the kitchen. "You keep them out here, right?"

"Yeah," he said as he painfully adjusted his position. He mentally cursed himself out for not taking the medicine when he woke up before dawn. Not that the damn medicine did him any good.

"Do you want water or juice to take this?"

"Nah, neither, I'll take it with my coffee," House said.

"You know, taking this with the coffee will play havoc with your stomach," she said disapprovingly as she handed him the medicine.

"I used to take Vicodin with whiskey."

"I forget sometimes how lucky I am that you survived this far," Lydia said as she sat down.

"A cast iron stomach goes a long way to keeping the Grim Reaper away," said House slapping his abdomen.

"It's not just your stomach that I'm worried about," Lydia said rolling her eyes. "It's your liver, your kidneys, your heart…"

"I'm sure when Wilson had me as an unconscious and unwilling victim after the crane accident, he had his way with me and performed every test he could think of that could be reasonably attributed to my injuries. And probably a few that need some explanation."

"Tom will definitely want to do a full metabolic panel on you. After he takes a look at your medical records, he'll decide what additional tests will be necessary to develop your course of treatment."

"By the time he finishes with me I'm probably going to feel like the subject of an alien medical study; no orifice will be left unprobed," House noted wryly.

"It won't be any worse than the going over James gave you; then again, you weren't aware of anything at that point which was for the best," said Lydia.

"Why did Wilson feel the need to call so damn early this morning? I realize what he had to tell you was important, but some people's personal alarm clocks do not acknowledge time within six hours of the sun rising." Lydia laughed as she took a drink of her coffee.

"I'm glad he did call; at least now I'll be better prepared for the meeting today," Lydia said with a concerned look on her face. House rolled his eyes.

"You have nothing to worry about," he said as he bit into his muffin once again. "The amount of experience you have in office management, insurance billing in particular, wipes out the blank space of nine missing credits. Besides you're meeting with the head honcho from the college tomorrow morning before the state comes in. With any kind of luck, you'll have the credits before you even get your feet moist on the job." House popped the rest of the muffin into his mouth and gave Lydia an exaggerated smile. "Those morons shouldn't even be the ones to judge you," House said with disgust. "Until a person has done the job they shouldn't be put in the position of determining another person's qualifications. Most of those idiots probably use an abacus to balance their checkbooks."

"You're assuming that they know what an abacus is, never mind how to use it." She leaned back against her pillows and stared at the end of the bed.

"Probably one look at their resumes and you'd most likely hyperventilate from helpless fits of laughter." House reached over and took her hand. Lydia was staring so intently, that she didn't even notice. "Just go in with your usual brand of diplomacy; tell them where and how far up they should stick it that they ask you to hand them the jar of Vaseline." House squeezed her hand but got no reaction; she was still staring at the foot of the bed. "Fraulein, you still with me?" Lydia blinked a few times and then turned to look at House.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I just got lost in my thoughts. I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"Just relax and you'll be fine," House said as he took another sip of his coffee. Lydia slowly nodded as she took a drink too.

"I sent my resume over to Staples and they said it would be ready at ten fifteen. I know most people submit their resume by email, but since I'm meeting with them in person I decided to give them a hard copy. I have it saved on a flash drive if they want it that way."

"Works for me," House said. He tried not to let it show just how much he admired Lydia for the way she was handling things. Actually, House thought to himself, he should be smacking his head over how little credit he gave her. She arranged for the care and well-being of both her parents and Annie, endured an abusive marriage, and yet raised two kids who don't appear to be sickeningly precocious. She also managed to go back to school on top of it all. All these things alone required organization, planning and smart use of resources. Oh yeah…let's not forget about the medical transcription and insurance work she did from home. I really do have to keep reminding myself how amazing she is. She was someone who kept him on his toes…

"Hello, Greg? Are you in there?" Now it was Lydia's turn to bring back House's focus to the present.

"Yeah, guess I'm not awake yet," House said as he stretched. "What did you say?"

"I said my resume copies will be ready in a little and I need to pick them up at Staples before the meeting. I was thinking of stopping by to see Scotty and his fan club before the Pow-Wow, that way when all is said and done we can be on our way." Lydia smiled. "I still can't believe you're taking time off from work this afternoon."

"Why not? Looking at cars is always fun, shopping for the makings of a delicious dinner is not a bad thing and seeing each other in the daylight hours when we're not dealing with a patient is a good thing, too. I think in some warped way it proves we are not vampires and proves that you can stand looking at me in very bright light."

"Forget that I saw you in a very glaring light back at Mayfield," Lydia said moving closer to House as she spoke.

"And yet, here you are," House said moving in to meet Lydia. "Which only proves that you need better sunglasses." She leaned forward and gave House a kiss which he returned in kind.

"If we're going to accomplish everything that we need to before my meeting, you'd better get in the shower while I make a few more notes on my Power Point presentation." House looked disappointed.

"I was hoping you'd join me in a session of water conservation," He said giving Lydia his best puppy dog eyes. Water conservation was what House called sharing a shower, so he could get Lydia to join him. It usually worked.

"I've already taken a shower. When James called I knew we'd have to get moving a little earlier than we had planned, so I hopped in; I figured it was the only way we could get moving."

House nodded his head.

"Do you want me to pack one of these to take with you?" Lydia asked, indicating her muffin. House pulled back the cover and swung his feet to the floor.

"Sure. By the way, how did I get naked," asked House.

Lydia looked at him and smiled.

"When we got home we were both so tired, that we came straight in here. You helped me pull the covers down, you took your clothes off and put the covers on you. I thought that looked like a great idea, so I did the same thing. As soon as I got into bed you rolled onto your side and started spooning, which was fine with me. I cleaned up our things when I got up this morning," Lydia said with a shrug. House sat with his head bowed down.

"I can barely remember any of that; it's a good thing you drove home," he said as he stood up.

"I didn't think that moving this slowly would start until I had a few gray hairs," he said as he began to move towards the bathroom. Lydia looked confused as she studied House's head.

"Hon, in case you haven't checked lately, you do have a number of gray hairs up there."

"I wasn't referring to my head," he said with a grin. Lydia shook her head.

"Well that's what you get for fooling around in the backseat of a car like an overgrown teenager."

"I got something that made me forget about my pain for a while," he said as he walked to Lydia and gave her a kiss.

"I'm glad," she replied as House went past her into the bathroom. "**Ein was für netter Esel**," she said under her breath.

"Excuse me?" asked House as he turned to Lydia.

"I said, 'What a cute ass.' Don't tell me you've forgotten your German."

"No," House said as he stepped into the bathroom and started to close the door, "I just wanted to hear you say it again."

Lydia walked away without a word; House managed to keep a straight face until the door fully closed.

Then he broke into a huge grin and chuckled to himself as he turned on the shower…

"So your first stop is to visit Scotty and his entourage," House said as he signed in at the desk. Lydia took the pen from him and signed in on the visitor's log. She smiled as the receptionist handed her a badge to wear.

"I'm going to head there first and then if I have time before the meeting, I'll head to your office to say a quick hello and calm my nerves," she answered. They had made their way to the elevators where House pushed the call button.

"Just relax. The best way to get through it is to imagine them all naked." Lydia shook her head vigorously as the elevator arrived.

"No, no, no…" she said as they stepped inside the car. She reached over and pressed the button for the second floor. "If I did that, I'd either pass out from shock and revulsion or break down in uncontrollable laughter."

"Especially in Wilson's case," House said as they came to the second floor. Lydia was about to say something to reprimand House for what he said, but just then the doors opened and two men in lab coats walked in. With a smile on her face and a look at House, she left the car and turned to say goodbye.

"Ich liebe dich," he said.

"Ich liebe dich auch," she replied. House watched her disappear around the corner as the doors closed.

"Four, please," one of the two men in the elevator said. Good thing it's my floor, House thought as he pushed the button. He hurried through the opening doors of the elevator as they arrived at the fourth floor. He made his way down the hall to the conference room where he found Chase, Taub and Thirteen.

"Since when do you turn your cell off at night?" Chase asked as soon as House came through the door.

"What the hell are you talking about?" House said as he fished into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "Damn! I must have forgotten to plug it in." He looked at Chase. "Why were you trying to call me?"

"We had to take Scotty back into surgery." House looked away from the team and let out a sigh.

"What did Mallon screw up?" he asked with a smirk.

"You picked the right surgeon," Chase said laughing. "Thirteen noticed an unusual amount of blood coming from Scotty's nostril. I had decided to crash here since I was way too tired to drive home; so when she paged me, I was already here. I paged Mallon and one of his associates showed up. He was familiar with the procedure so we took Scotty back into the O.R. and cauterized one of the vessels that Mallon must have done improperly." Everything is fine. As a matter of fact, he is doing very well," Chase said looking at Taub. House also turned his attention to Taub.

"So what did you do that actually relates to real medicine as opposed to the four T work that you used to do?" asked House, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Four T?" Taub questioned.

"Taut tummies and tight tushes," House explained. "Not that there's anything wrong with either one of those things." Taub ignored him and pulled some papers out of a folder.

"I ran an EEG to see what difference the operation made to Scotty's brain functions," he said. "Keeping in mind that he was still sedated from the operation, I'd say things are looking pretty good." He handed House a sheet of paper. "This is the scan we did when he was first brought in; this is from the scan this morning." He handed House a second piece of paper. The first one looked like an out of control Etch A Sketch created it. The second one was far different; the spikes were all lower in height as well as being uniform.

"The intervals are consistent between impulses and the modulation is within range," noted House. He looked at Chase. "I'd say the operation was a success." Chase nodded.

"Mallon knows what he's doing, he's just a little too full of himself for his own good," he said.

"Or for his patient's good," Taub said. "One day he's going to harm or kill a patient and try to get away with it based on his reputation."

"It won't get him very far; he's not well liked among his colleagues," Chase informed him. House placed the papers he was holding back on the table near Taub.

"Thanks for the news update," he said.

"I figured after the long day and night some good news was in order."

"Correction, after the long night Thirteen, Chase and I had," House said. "You, Foreman and Wilson got to go home to soft, comfortable beds. The only comfort I found was in the back seat of my car," Thirteen smiled; she caught on right away as to what House meant.

"Don't forget Lydia. She was here all the time and with a wound that needed attention not once, but twice," Thirteen remarked.

"Thanks for pointing out my failures and foibles," House said ruefully. He started to turn to head to his office when he stopped to look at her. "What are you still doing here? Getting an early start on lunch?" Thirteen glared at him.

"No, I was able to get a few hours after you left and when Taub and Wilson came in to check on Scotty around seven I just grabbed a shower here and took a nap on the couch in Wilson's office. He said it was a lot more comfortable than the sofa in the doctors' lounge. It was a lot quieter, too."

"What the hell was Wilson doing here so early? I thought something was wrong when I saw him here," Taub said.

"That's why nobody likes you," House said. "You're always such a downer. It seems the state has pulled a fast one; they're coming in tomorrow to tell the board that they have to have a proposal ready in thirty days to get the hospital back on its financial feet or the state will take over the controls around here. The board will engage in the one-upmanship by saying here's our proposal and the person who will make it a reality. That person being Lydia unless the board would like to prove what a bunch of nincompoops they are."

"I thought the state wasn't supposed to come in until next week," said Chase.

"I guess they just missed our smiling faces," House said sarcastically. "Lydia is more than capable of handling both sets of bureaucrats and the job itself. She's got lingering doubts put in her head by her father and her ex that are going to drive her crazy. Lydia shouldn't let them rattle her," Chase said. "If she can handle you, she can handle anything." House shot him a look. Thirteen and Taub tried to hide the fact that they were laughing, but they were doing a lousy job of it.

"You've got some papers on your desk relating to…"

"I'd demand a lavish apology from you morons, but not only am I not likely to get it, but …"

"You know Chase is right," Thirteen interjected. House made a face and followed her into his office snagging his backpack as he passed the end of the table.

"What have we got?" House asked as he dropped his bag down and took out his reading glasses.

"This spells out Scotty's illness and reasons for his current hospitalization. We verified the personal info with Misty and Slick, the rest came directly from his medical chart and is up to date as of seven this morning," Thirteen said as she took the report out of the folder on House's desk. "After you read it over, you have to initial at the bottom of each page and at the end of the report. Then sign on the top line where you're swearing that it's all the truth." She left the papers on top of the folder in the hope that House would get the hint that completing the task was a priority.

"So are you looking forward to your lunch meeting today?" House asked as he perused the packet detailing Scotty's medical misadventures.

"House…," Thirteen said in a warning tone.

"I'm just trying to protect the interests of one of my employees and my new friend," House said leaning back in his chair. He was amused by the shocked look on Thirteen's face. "Don't know whether it's because we'd shared certain experiences in life like an intense hatred of Malcolm Hunter or what, but I actually find I'm able to tolerate talking to the guy, a rarity for me. Besides, I gave my approval to your little tete-a-tete just in case you're wondering."

"Thanks, but I don't need your permission to have a friendly lunch with another adult," Thirteen said somewhat defensively.

"I didn't think so; I just thought it was sweet the way he checked to see if you had to be home by midnight." House could see her relax as Thirteen realized that he was busting chops.

"Sorry if I snapped, I've had a lot on my mind lately," she said quickly. "I've been having these blinding headaches and…"

"And that's why you didn't drive home when Wilson and Short Round came in," House referring to Taub. "You tell your doctor about this?"

"I have an appointment this afternoon after work; they squeezed me in as sort of an emergency." Thirteen began to pace. "Yeah. I need someone I can talk to about this. Picking someone up in a bar and unloading your medical problems on them is just not good. They don't know what's going on," she said as she looked over her shoulder at Chase and Taub. "I need a neutral party who can understand where I'm coming from."

"You're sure there isn't something else wrong you're not saying? Cause I've been spending a lot of time around the female species lately and I'm beginning to get good on picking up on this sort of stuff." Thirteen smiled at House's choice of words.

"No, it's just the headaches. I've been feeling great for so long now, that it had me rattled," she explained.

"I need you here. I need you to be a part of this team. But I need Thirteen, not Six Point Five. Get to the doctor and find out what's going on. If you need any time off, let me know…I can always bombard you with phone calls at home." Thirteen dropped her head down and looked at the floor.

"Thanks," she said quietly and turned to leave.

"Thirteen," House called out. She turned to look at him. "Don't overlook the friends you have here," he said looking toward Taub and Chase and then down at his desk. "I think they may surprise you." He picked his head up until his eyes met hers. Thirteen was taken aback by what she saw there… an understanding, sympathy even. Thirteen smiled; maybe Lydia was managing to change him.

"I won't. Thanks, House."

"Remember, no tongues on the first date; it's gauche," he called out. She saw Chase and Taub pick their heads up from what they were doing and stare at her. No, Thirteen thought, Lydia has a long way to go.

After reviewing the papers relating to Scotty's application for medical assistance, House signed them and returned the folder to patient services.

Normally he would have told one of the team to bring it down to the office, but he needed to stop in at medical records to order copies of his medical history to give to Lydia's friend Tom. As he sat filling out the request form, House hesitated several times. It wasn't that he didn't know the answers to the questions being asked. House had just given up any hope of getting anyone to listen to him and help him with his pain that he was afraid to try again. He let out a sigh as he signed his name; he'd give it one more try for Lydia's sake as well as his own. Leaving the records office he headed to the elevators so he could check on Scotty. He was standing in front of the elevators when the doors opened for him to enter but blocking his way was Lydia when she exited the car.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said as she stepped into the lobby.

She let out a big sigh and looked down at the floor.

"Hey, Nervous Nelly," House said and tilted his head to catch her eye. She reluctantly raised her eyes up to his. "Stop selling yourself short; you're better than you give yourself credit for. You're smart enough and on the ball enough to handle this. I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if that weren't the case." Lydia managed a smile.

"Somehow I think that's actually true," she said shaking her head. "Thanks. I'll meet you out in the plaza around twelve thirty." She gave House a quick peck on the cheek and hurried to meet up with Foreman and Wilson before she encountered the board. House shook his head as he stepped into an arriving elevator. First he plays cheerleader for Thirteen, now Lydia; he definitely needed more sleep. As the elevator traveled to the second floor, he hoped there would be time for a quick nap before dinner. It seemed that Misty had the same idea; as House left the car, he saw Misty asleep in a chair in the I.C.U. lobby.

Slick was sitting nearby with his legs sprawled out in front of him.

"What's the matter? Did the kid get tired of you two hovering over him?" House asked as he plopped down not so gently on the couch next to Slick who was startled as he turned to look at who jostled him.

"Good morning…again," said Slick rubbing his eyes. "No, they asked us to leave the room because they were going to give Scotty a bed bath and change the linens." He looked at his watch. "They should be finished by now."

"I'm just going to look at his chart. My team was here earlier, so there probably won't be any changes. I'll let you know when I come back if he's decent. By the way," House said as he stood up, "I properly busted Thirteen's horns about your lunch date."

"It's not a date," Slick called after him as House headed to Scotty's room. Now House felt he had done his job; both sides were annoyed with him. After looking over the chart and nursing notes, House saw that everything seemed good. He stepped into the room for a moment to have a gander for himself. House thought the kid appeared as good as someone who just had their head and chest cracked open could. He returned to the lobby to make his report.

"Well he'll be back to designing castles in the clouds before too long," House said. "We'll arrange for the different therapists to come in tomorrow and do evaluations, although I don't think any will be necessary. The team will assess brain functions like cognitive ability and memory. As long as he passes all those tests, he graduates with honors. Well, I'm heading home to cook dinner and then on to an evening of doing who knows what. As long as it involves being naked at least part of the time, I'll be fine with it." Slick laughed and shook his head.

"I remember nights like that," he said wistfully. "You'll have one of your team members covering in case anything comes up, correct?" House hesitated for a moment.

"Yeah; in case you actually want to talk to the person in charge…" House took a deep breath, "Let me give you my number and Lydia's as well in case I forget to charge my cell again." Slick tried not to look surprised at House's gesture, but he had a feeling the number was given to precious few people outside of the team.

"Thanks. I'll give you mine so you won't think you have some random maniac calling you; it'll be one you know." The two exchanged numbers and then House hit the call button for the elevator. "I hope you enjoy the rest of the day…oh, House? Thanks for the vote of confidence," Slick said holding up his phone. House nodded and entered the elevator. He knew he had a few things he wanted to take care of while Lydia met with the board of directors so he left the hospital grounds and headed into town. It would save time for later if he picked up the shrimp and a few of the other ingredients he needed now. After making his stops House dropped the items back at his place. He then returned to the hospital, grabbed his backpack from his office and stored it in the trunk of his car. When all was said and done, he still had time to hit the nearby deli and pick up an iced coffee for himself and an iced tea for Lydia. House sat down on one of the benches outside the main entrance and leaned back to relax for a bit. He closed his eyes but they didn't get to stay that way for long.

"I thought I'd find you here like this." House's eyes flew open and he saw Lydia standing above him.

"Can't you show any more mercy to a man who is tired? Waking me up like this isn't going to put me in a very good mood for later."

"I'm sorry, I just thought you'd want to say hello to the Director of Insurance relations." House smiled and stood up.

"Want to go celebrate by buying a car?" he asked. Lydia nodded and took his hand as they walked to House's car.

"Stop it or I won't be able to get this door open" Lydia exclaimed. A few hours after leaving the hospital House and Lydia returned to his place having successfully completed their mission. Not only did Lydia find a great deal on a minivan, it was one that met with House's coolness approval. Now if House would stop tickling her long enough to let her open the door. "We are going to be stuck in this hallway all night and with a mess to clean if you don't let me get into the bathroom," Lydia said still trying to put the key in the lock.

"OK, if you're that lacking in self-control, go ahead," House said relenting on his assault on her ribcage. Lydia finally got the door open, threw her things on the couch and ran for the bathroom.

House went into the kitchen to put the wine and other goodies they bought into the fridge. "Oh, that feels so much better," Lydia said as she joined House in the kitchen. "I was just trying to make you smile. You look very sexy when you smile; you get this twinkle that just does things to me." House closed the door to the fridge and gave Lydia a mischievous look.

"I can think of better ways to make me smile," she said wrapping her arms around House.

"Granted, but even Superman needs some rest once in a while," he said apologetically as he ran the back of his hand down the side of her face.

"I'm glad you said something; I'm tired, too."

"I have an idea," House said. "It's about ten to four; why don't we go grab a nap. We can catch about two hours and still eat at a reasonable time."

"That sounds wonderful to me," Lydia said with a smile.

"I only need about forty minutes to prep and cook the shrimp. And the linguini shouldn't take long since it was made before my eyes," House said.

"Mmm…I haven't had freshly made pasta in ages. There was an Italian specialty store in the area, but it was on the other side of Phoenix and I didn't get over that way too often," Lydia said as she made her way down the hall to the bedroom. "This is going to feel so good. I can't remember the last time I took a nap during the day."

"It does feel good; I do it all the time."

"Well with your leg, you never get to sleep through the night so you need to take one." House paused at the foot of the bed as he unbuttoned his shirt.

"Sorry. Didn't know I was waking you up." Lydia turned and looked at House as she hung her blazer up. "Greg, that wasn't meant as a complaint. I worry about your health. You know as well as I do that a lack of sleep is a real problem. And this isn't just insomnia, this is caused by severe pain. You probably haven't had a decent night's sleep in years," she said as she put her hands on his shoulders. "I plan on having many years to be with you; I don't want anything to mess that up." House looked away from Lydia.

"I guess that means you'll stick around for a while." He wouldn't bring his head back around to look at her. Lydia put her hand under his chin and turned his head to meet hers.

"You're stuck with me for as long as you want. Even if I'm now a department head at the hospital, too." The last comment brought a smile from House.

"Don't go getting all high and mighty with me. I used to go toe to toe with the Dean of Medicine and win." Lydia took her hands off House's shoulders and folded them across her chest.

"I'm not her," she said giving him a look.

"No, you are definitely are not," he said with a laugh. He gave her a kiss and moved to his side of the bed so he could continue to get changed; Lydia did the same. A moment later she glanced over and saw House pulling on a pair of lightweight sweat pants; he wasn't wearing any underwear.

"Haven't you forgotten something?" she asked.

"Nope; they're all coming off later anyway. Why make more work for you?" Lydia was going to say something, but then just shrugged and followed House's lead.

"Why argue with flawless logic?" she said as she joined him in bed.

"Smart lady," he said putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

"You were serious about that earlier today," she said as she arranged her pillows. "That you fell in love with me because you thought I was smart?" House sat up and thought for a moment.

"Well there were a couple of things I first noticed," he said as he pulled Lydia's top forward and looked down her shirt. "But it was your beautiful mind that kept me coming back. I felt that I found someone that could keep up with me and challenge me once in a while. And could handle it when I challenged them. It had been a bit since I found someone like that, especially with frontage like that," he said looking down her shirt again.

"I'm glad I paid attention when I was in school," she said with a smile.

"So am I," House said as he lay down and pulled Lydia into his arms. She snuggled in against him.

"This is wonderful," she said sleepily.

"Yeah," House said. It was good on many levels but mainly to recharge his batteries for the plans he had for later on.

"How many of these bottom feeders do you want?" House asked waving the serving spoon over the bacon wrapped shrimp he had prepared.

"I'll take two to start," Lydia said as she passed by the stove to place the basket of garlic bread she made on the table. House looked at her in disbelief.

"You're insulting my culinary skills before you even taste it by taking a miniscule amount?" he questioned.

"Hon, they're each the size of a parakeet," she said. "I'm sure I'll want to come back for more but I have salad besides the shrimp and linguini.

"Well I'm starting off with five of them," he said as he served Lydia and then himself. "I'll try to control myself and not come back and finish them off." He handed Lydia her plate so she could load on the pasta she had done with Annie's white clam sauce.

"Mmm, this all smells delicious," she said as House joined her at the table. He picked up his wine glass and lifted it in a toast.

"To the woman who forced me to become a gourmet cook," he proclaimed as their glasses clinked.

"How did I do that?"

"When I got out of Mayfield, I took a cooking class with Wilson. I needed something to make me forget about you," House said giving Lydia a look. "Needless to say it didn't work." He took a drink of his wine as she lowered her head.

"So I suppose this meal is all my fault." House nodded.

"Everything except the wine and even that's good. I don't see why you had a problem with the clerk in the liquor store." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"I had no problem with him pointing out the liquor infused whipped cream. What bothered me was the way he graphically and bluntly made suggestions for its use and none of them involved strawberry shortcake or cream," she said tersely.

"He did have some really good ideas," House said with a grin.

"He was staring right at my chest and licking his lips," she exclaimed. "He made me very uncomfortable," she said as she took a piece of garlic bread. Lydia looked down at her plate. "What flavors did you get?" House now reached for some bread.

"Jack Daniels and Sky Vanilla Vodka," he answered still grinning.

"Good choices," she said biting into the bread. She shot House a look and started to laugh. House reached over and picked up Lydia's knife and fork. He cut a piece of the shrimp and held it out to her. "I know how to use utensils; I've been at it for years."

"I'm not questioning your ability to handle sharp instruments, I just want to have a clear view of your face the first time you taste this," he said moving the fork closer. Lydia gave him a skeptical look and leaned forward to take the offered food. Almost as soon as she closed her mouth, she began to express her delight.

"Mmm…mmm…" was all she could say.

"I'm sorry I speak a lot of languages, but intense epicurious moaning is not one of them," House noted.

"That's amazing…that's…mouth orgasm," she proclaimed. House chuckled.

"I thought you'd like it," he said as he handed her back her utensils.

"This is wonderful," Lydia said. "Not just the meal, but the fact that we are finally having some down time. No running around, no rushing anywhere, nothing else to deal with. I like it," she said as she twirled her pasta.

"I like it, too," House said quietly. "Too bad it won't last after Friday." Lydia quickly finished chewing her food and looked at House.

"Yes it will," she said. "We need nights like this, time just for us. It's the only way to make a relationship survive, to have a date night every week or so." House seemed curious at what Lydia was saying.

"You mean I won't forever be making reservations for four and watching insanely sweet movies like 'Stuart Little'?" he asked. Lydia laughed.

"No, although that will happen once in a while," she replied. She reached over for House's hand. "You know how much I love my kids, but even I need a break from them. I need you; I need time for us to talk, I need time for us to be alone together." She gave him a smile. "We need to be able to fall asleep in each other's arms, clothed or unclothed. The kids will need to socialize with other people and so will we. 'Our time' will be absolutely necessary for us to make this as good as I know it can be."

"I don't see a problem with any of that," House said squeezing Lydia's hand. "Especially the unclothed part."

"I thought you'd like that," Lydia said as she raised her glass of wine. House did the same and the two continued to enjoy their meal during which House declared the garlic bread out of this world and Annie's clam sauce incredible. For her part, Lydia went back for two more shrimp. When they were finished, she rose to start clearing the dishes.

House picked up his plate and utensils and followed her into the kitchen.

"Leave those on the counter; I'm going to rinse them and put them in the dishwasher. I'll soak the pots in soapy hot water while we watch the movie. They'll take too much room in the dishwasher."

"I'll wrap up the bread and then top off our vino. Which flick did you pick?"

"'Young Frankenstein.' I haven't seen it in ages and it's always been one of my favorites. I have to warn you though; I like to talk along with one of the characters." House smiled.

"Inga." He said naming the part that Teri Garr played. "That's OK, I have a character I yell out lines for, too." Lydia though for a moment.

"The Creature?" she guessed. She was bent over the dishwasher loading in the forks and knives as House came up behind her and started making the guttural sounds that were the monster's first form of communication. Lydia doubled over laughing, marveling at how well House copied the sound made by actor Peter Boyle who portrayed the Creature.

"Oh, this is going to be interesting," Lydia said as took the pots off the stove and loaded them into the sink. House went into the living room and set up the DVD player.

"Ready for dessert?" Lydia asked bringing a canvas tote bag over to the couch. She sat down and swung her legs up so she was snuggled in between House's legs. It had become their favorite way to sit there as both got to elevate their feet. House once again made the Creature's noise in response to the dessert question. "In English or you don't get any," Lydia admonished. House had a feeling about what she had for their after meal pleasure, so he decided to behave himself.

"What have you got there?" Lydia pulled a plate out of the bag and House grinned as he realized he was right. "Frau Krumholtz's Soft Gingerbread Cookies. When the hell did you have time to make these?" he asked as he undid the plastic wrap and removed one of the treats. "Monday. We were supposed to have had dinner last night, but I had covered these up right after I made them, so I thought they must still be fresh. They taste just the way I remember them," House said as he savored the cookie and let it take him back to his childhood. It evoked memories both good and bad but he managed to push the negative to the back of his mind and enjoy the moment.

"Your Oma would be proud," he said using the German name for grandmother that Lydia loved to use. Lydia bowed her head and began to tear up.

"Thank you but nobody made them as good as my Oma." House gave her a hug and stroked the back of her head gently." "Ready to watch a movie?" Lydia asked as she wiped a tear away with her hand. House pointed the controller at the television and started the show. The beginning was as funny as always, but things really got going when Inga made her appearance. House was amazed and amused at how well Lydia's and the character's voices were alike.

"Want to go for a roll in the hay?" Lydia asked imitating Inga precisely. "Roll, roll!" House couldn't hold back laughter when Lydia quoted one of Inga's best lines: "He would have an enormous shwanzshtucker. Woof!" But House got his revenge when the monster came on and by the time the Creature and Dr. Frankenstein sang "Puttin' On the Ritz," Lydia was helpless with laughter to the point she rolled off the couch and on to the floor. House felt such enjoyment watching her that it caught him by surprise. For just a little while, he had the feeling like the cloud of gloom that he always thought was hovering right over his shoulder was nowhere to be found; it scared the hell out of him. The two managed to control themselves and viewed the end of the movie.

"I have never enjoyed that picture so much in my life," Lydia said as she replaced the wrap on the cookies and carried the plate to the kitchen.

"Having additional narrative certainly gave it a new perspective," House acknowledged as he brought the wine glasses to the sink.

Lydia looked over to her left at House for a moment.

"You surprised me tonight," she said. "I didn't expect to have a gourmet prepare my dinner or get a live interactive performance of one of my favorite movies. I would almost say I was pleasantly shocked." House leaned forward and rested his elbows on the counter.

"Well if you're not blown away yet, here's one to knock your socks off; I gave Slick my phone number today and yours, too. And yes, I have his. I understand this exchange of information usually occurs between…" House cleared his throat. "…friends." He looked away from Lydia and waited for her reaction. She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him toward her.

"I am so proud of you," Lydia said giving House a kiss. "I know how hard it was completely unlike you to do something like that, but I'm so glad you did. Slick is a really nice guy, and there's something about the way he talks and his attitude that reminds me just a little bit of you. Plus, you made the choice to pursue the friendship; it's not like James or anyone else is shoving this down your throat." She gave House a big hug.

"Hey, watch it; you're getting your soapy hands all over my vintage t-shirt," he said pretending to be annoyed. Lydia looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry but I still think that it's great." She pulled him in for another hug. He gave her several kisses on her neck which made her squirm and he moved out of her reach.

"Glad you think it's great," he said brushing soap bubbles off of himself. "But it felt like I just revealed the secret identity of one of the world's greatest super heroes. I'll be right back," he said as he left the kitchen.

"I'm still proud of you," she called out. He answered her with the creature sound. Lydia shook her head and smiled. She could have predicted that House and Slick would have hit it off from their first meeting on Monday night, but she knew it wasn't the kind of thing you could have pointed out to House and pushed it in his face; he had to reach the comfort level on his own or it never would fly. She could only keep her fingers crossed that things would continue to go well and House would think that it's OK to let people in once in a while. She shut the light off in the kitchen and went to do the same in the living room when she realized that House had come down the hall and into the room.

"I wasn't sure if I should turn off the lights in here," she said as House approached her.

"Nah, leave them on in case I feel like making a late night raid to kidnap some more of those gingerbread boys," he said.

"I see I'm going to have to keep a steady supply of those around just to make you happy." House took her hand and led her down the hall.

"Now you know there are many ways to keep me happy," House said leaning Lydia up against the wall. He gave her a gentle kiss, another, then another. "You know, the more time we spend together, the more I can figure out why this feels so different than what I had with Stacy or imagined I had with Cuddy." House took a deep breath. "There, I was loved despite of what I was, an excuse or apology always had to be issued to explained why they loved me. You…you…"

"I love you because of who you are. People are not like …Mr. Potato Head dolls where you take away the parts you don't like and change them out for characteristics that are pleasing to you. You take them as they are, good and bad. If they're looking for something to shape and mold into their idea of perfect, they should get themselves a lump of modeling clay," Lydia said folding her arms across her chest. She was obviously quite annoyed with the "thems" who have been a part of House's life. House didn't know if her reaction was strictly on his behalf or if it had to do with the way her father tried to decide her future for her, but it was clear that when Lydia was in a feisty mood she was a force to be reckoned with. Either way, he loved hearing the words.

"You know, you are way too easy on me," House said as he took her into his arms. Lydia shook her head vigorously.

"No, I think others have been far too hard, she said as she hugged him tightly. He closed his eyes and tried to keep it together so he could continue with his plans for the evening. He gently pushed back from her and ran his hand down her cheek.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking about a lot of things since you magically appeared around last week," he said taking her by the hands and moving backwards toward his bedroom door. "Like…I was wondering what would be a perfect ending to this perfect day…" He stopped and turned Lydia's head to her right so she was looking into the room. She gasped at what she saw; the bed covers were folded down with a single red rose resting against her pillow along with a small gift bag. There were two stained glass candle holders ablaze that showed a bouquet of irises in their design. She noticed there were two champagne glasses sitting on House's nightstand along with a bottle sitting in a Styrofoam bucket. All in all, it was unbelievably romantic. She was about to turn to House when she realized she was being lifted off the ground.

"I've also been thinking about the fact that if in those horror stories I came up with in the coma, I could carry my imaginary girlfriend to my bed, I can certainly do the same for the real woman in my life." House readjusted his hold on Lydia. "Do me a favor; get ready to bail in case this doesn't go as planned." He took the first steps and Lydia could see from the look in his face that it was a bit of a strain on his leg. She wanted to tell him to stop, that his attempt at the incredibly romantic gesture was enough. But she knew how much it would mean to him if he completed this successfully, so she stayed silent. It was a great relief to both of them when he gently placed her on the bed.

"That went better than I thought it would," House said as he tried to rub his leg unnoticed by Lydia.

"Greg, why did you do all of this? It absolutely wonderful, but what's the occasion?" She jumped as he popped the cork on the champagne.

"Originally, there was no reason if we had this on Monday night like I planned; but circumstances named Scotty got in our way," he said as he poured the bubbly. "So tonight it's to celebrate your new job that comes with an executive title and your own office." House stopped for a moment. "Sounds a lot like my job." He shot her a glance as he handed her a glass. "Here's to the newest member of the hospital staff and the only one who could make me truly fall in love with her." They clinked glasses and Lydia leaned forward to kiss House before he could take a drink.

"You are so amazing. And full of surprises. If I told anyone about all of this, they would think I was making it up. No one knows this side of you," she said gently taking his hand in hers.

"Let's keep it that way," he said looking down into his glass. "Part of the way I get the team to do what I want, is that they all think I'm a miserable bastard. It would help if things were kept that way."

"I think you've already proven that you're nicer than what you'd led them to believe." House made a face.

"Guess whose fault that is?" Lydia giggled as she took a sip of champagne. She reached behind her and pulled out the gift bag.

"What is this?"

"It's smaller than a bread box, so that should narrow down the possibilities," he said drinking some champagne and avoiding Lydia's gaze. She took a small box out of the bag. It was the type that was clearly meant to hold jewelry. "I don't shop," House began hesitantly. "I definitely don't shop for jewelry…but when I took a good look…I could see you wearing it," House said with a shrug. Lydia's hands were shaking as she opened the box, almost afraid to see what was inside.

"Hon, it's beautiful!" Lydia said, her hands shaking with excitement. It was a necklace. There was an open heart surrounded by alternating light and dark purple stones. Dangling from the center were two sections of chain. It was stunning.

"I knew that green is your favorite color, but I thought that it was a good match for those things that you're wearing," he said pointing to her earrings. House took a drink of his champagne almost finishing the glass.

"They were given to me be my parents for my eighteenth birthday," she said fingering the purple heart-shaped studs she always wore. She removed the necklace from the box and put it around her neck. Lydia jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom mirror to take a look. "Greg, I love it. This is such a sweet surprise." She returned to her side of the bed.

"Yeah, it surprised the hell out of me, too," House said. Despite being thrilled with the gift, Lydia still picked up on House's lack of enthusiasm, a complete change from a few minutes ago.

"Greg, are you uncomfortable giving me this? Because if you are…"

"What I am uncomfortable about, is the fact that I didn't have the ya-yas to buy what I really wanted to... And Wilson had nothing to do with this. He doesn't even know I bought it." Lydia sat there puzzled and shaking her head.

"Then what…?" House let out a sigh.

"I didn't feel like taking my car to go get pizza for lunch on Monday, so I walked over to Gino's. On the way back I walked by the jewelry store that was nearby and that caught my eye. I've snacked on your ears enough to know that the necklace would go perfectly with the earrings. I was in no rush to get back to the hospital since at that point we had no new cases pending." He took his glass and topped off his champagne. Reaching for Lydia's glass, he did the same. "I went inside and had to wait for the one salesman in the place to finish with the guy who couldn't decide whether he wanted fake alligator or fake plastic for his new watchband. While I was waiting, I started looking in the display cases and I came to the engagement rings and wedding bands. My first reaction was what idiotic pictures they were showing of barefoot couples running through fields of clover." House looked at Lydia. "That's not marriage. Even I've figured that out." Lydia looked down into her champagne glass.

"Tell me. What do you think marriage is," she asked.

"It's about handling the good and the bad together and not running away when things get tough. It's about doing things you may not want to do or making sacrifices so the other person can be happy. I always thought I was too much of a self-centered jerk to be a good candidate for the position of loving and devoted spouse; people around me just seemed to confirm that opinion." He picked up her hand and held it in his. "I don't feel that way with you. Any thoughts I have that the institution of marriage should be locked up and the key thrown away disappear." House picked his head up and looked at Lydia. "You're different from every woman I've known; you're emotional yet you can logically explain those emotions. That's a neat trick for anyone to pull off. It wouldn't be the same BS that most couples throw around whether it's my parents' hypocrisy that they lived or Wilson's three stumbles down the aisle. I know it wouldn't be like that with you. But I still can't help but think I would screw it up and hurt you. I can't do that to you; you've been through enough and I'm not going to mess with you just to try and make a grab at happiness for myself." House swung his legs off the bed and sat hunched over. Lydia put her glass down on House's night stand.

"What makes you think I want to get married again?" She removed the glass from House's hands and placed it next to hers.

"I know you're old-fashioned enough to believe in marriage despite the fact we've basically lived together for the past ten days." House swore she was blushing a bit as she looked away from him.

"Yes, I do believe in marriage if it's entered into honestly. 'Girlfriend' is lovely, 'significant other,' 'life partner'…they're all very nice. But 'wife'…there's just something special about that. Nothing would make me happier than to someday be Mrs. Gregory House; as long as it was something we both really wanted. Without that element, it's a lie. I've lived a lie once and I will not do it again, not with you. I value our relationship too much to tarnish it like that." Lydia leaned forward and held House's face in her hands. "Love isn't about sitting around looking into each other's eyes; it's about looking outward in the same direction. From how you described marriage before, it's very clear we are looking out in the same direction." House came toward her and gave her a tender kiss that grew more intense with each passing second.

"I guess I'd better get my screwed up head straightened out so I can go back and get you that ring I saw," he said as he began to kiss her neck.

"Greg, no; I don't need rings on my finger or a change in my name to make me happy; I need you. I want nothing more than to have you by my side as I go through this crazy life and I want to be by yours to help you. If you ever get to the point where you feel that you do want to give marrying me a chance, I hope you know that nothing in this world would make me prouder than to have you for my husband." This time there was nothing House could do to hold his emotions back; as he gathered Lydia into his arms and hugged her tightly, a few tears trickled down his cheek. The feelings were just messing all the more with his already conflicted thoughts, but hearing Lydia's words made him happier than he had ever felt in his life.

"Just give me some time to get my brain to catch up to my heart. My heart knows exactly what it wants me to do; it's my brain that's playing devil's advocate right now." Lydia smiled as she pulled back so she could see House's face.

"You have the rest of my life," she said softly. She and House began to kiss again with House working his way to the crook of her neck and lingering there. She began to mumble quietly in her native tongue, which was a signal to House that he was pushing all the right buttons.

"Hey Fraulein," he said with a wicked tone in his voice and a smile to match. "You know what would make a perfect ending to a perfect day?" Lydia opened her eyes and saw the expression on House's face and started to laugh as he lowered her down and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"Whipped cream!" they said in unison and hurried to the kitchen to get their evening treat.


	14. Chapter 14

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Fourteen – "Traffic Circle"

By: Purpleu

"Let's see now, Executive Department Head, Mother of the Year, lover extraordinaire, gourmet cook and baker…and in a few months, college graduate. Any other titles you'd like to add to your roster, your Majesty?" House pulled up to a stop light and gestured toward Lydia with a flourish. House crinkled up his mouth in order to suppress a smile.

"You forgot all-around incredible person," Lydia said sitting up straight and holding her head high in a regal manner.

"I thought that went without saying," he replied. She started to laugh and clasped her hands to her mouth.

"I can't believe how willing they were to work with me on accommodating my schedule," Lydia said of the New Jersey Medical College. "It makes it so much easier for me that they'll give me credit for doing three hours a week in the clinic and three hours a week with your team in the lab. That means I only need to go to one class for two hours each week. Just by getting in a little earlier and staying a little later, I'll be able to cover the time."

"Don't forget you have to write a report about each test you do and each patient you see. With some of the morons we get wandering in looking for cures for imaginary diseases, they're going to think you're putting them on." House pulled forward near the corner and put on his indicator to make a right.

"No they won't; someone from the hospital has to verify my reports…"

"And I'll tell them you're making it all up and obviously you've never set foot out of your office. We don't get any such crazy and unusual cases in our hospital; all of our cases are dull," he said sarcastically. Lydia crossed her arms in front of her and gave House a look.

"It's a good thing James or Dr. Foreman will be the ones to sign off on my work."

"That's only because you tipped them off that our relationship is of an intimate nature. Even a fish wouldn't get caught if it kept its mouth shut. And I mean that with all the love in the world," House said as he glanced at Lydia.

"Maybe if you had given me a little warning that the hospital was going to pay for me to go back to school, I wouldn't have acted so impulsively and kissed you," Lydia said still a bit embarrassed at her reaction to the news.

"But then it wouldn't have been a surprise," House said innocently. He turned on the left signal so he could enter the driveway of the hospital. "Besides, you're going to have to learn to control those reactions when we start working together for realz."

"I know how to behave in a professional manner," she said undoing her arms from their defensive position and smiling. "I was just floored and thrilled when you said that PPTH would pay for the courses…as long as I passed all of my courses. You timed that perfectly."

"I thought saying that as she was looking over your transcript and resume was a good time," House said as he parked in his spot.

"When did you find out?"

"Wilson texted me yesterday when we were out car shopping. I had asked him if there was any way to have The Great Ivory Tower pick up the fleecing for your sheepskin. He looked into it and said that since you were going to be working with the guys from IT starting next week, they could put you on the payroll starting on Monday, a month before you take up occupancy of your office." House shut off the car and put the keys in his pocket. He turned to see Lydia's mouth hanging open.

"That means I'll have medical coverage for the kids and me starting Monday; Dr. Foreman said it began the day I was hired," she said in amazement. House nodded.

"Your ex starts shirking his responsibility to you and the kids at midnight tomorrow; all you have to do is keep them in a gilded cage until forty-eight hours from then and you'll have no worries." He looked at her and smiled. "Just let a little of your parents come out in you and you'll be fine. Very little." House and Lydia got out of the car; she was laughing over his comment...

"I think it will be the only time I copy their parenting style." Lydia reached in for her laptop and briefcase. "It's supposed to rain this weekend, so I should have no problem keeping things fairly low key. On rainy days they love to watch movies or look at family pictures so they can hear about all the relatives they'll never have the chance to know. They also love to play cards," Lydia said, smiling as she thought about all the good times to come.

"I've played enough games of 'Go Fish' in my life, thanks. Actually I think I played enough of that by the time I was three," House said rolling his eyes as he got his backpack out of the back of the car.

"I thought you would have had enough of it in vitro," teased Lydia.

"Nah," House said as he stepped up on to the curb. "My mother was a rebel in more ways than one." Lydia joined him on the walkway. "Instead of playing bridge or gin rummy like the other proper military wives did, my mommy played poker. And I seemed to have inherited her talent for it, too."

"Good, the kids love poker; only they use snacks instead of chips to bet." House, who had started to walk toward the entrance of the building, stopped dead in his tracks.

"You're putting me on," he said. Lydia shook her head back and forth. "You're busting my chops."

"No, I'm not. Their father started to teach them but he was showing them how to cheat. So I took over. They love Texas Hold'Em and Seven Card Stud. There are a few others that my ex taught them that you may not know, but they can show you how to play." House saw that Lydia had that certain look in her eye that always made him smile. He walked over to her and gave her a kiss.

"If you ever wonder what made me fall in love in with you, just remember this conversation," he said shaking his head as he walked toward the building. Lydia was trying not to laugh as she came along side of him, but her mood quickly changed as she remembered something from the meeting yesterday.

"Greg," she said taking hold of him and stopping House from going inside the hospital. "There was a topic that came up at the board meeting and I should have made mention of it yesterday…but we were having such a nice day and I didn't want to ruin it." House looked at her quizzically. "The board has decided to ask Arlene Cuddy to tender Dr. Cuddy's resignation as Dean of Medicine. James was going to tell you, but he seemed upset by the news, so I said I would do it." House looked at the ground and let out a long sigh.

"It figures the wimp couldn't handle telling me himself. Sometimes I think he had more lust for her than I did." He picked his head up and met Lydia's eyes. "It's about time they took the blinders off and dealt with the reality of the situation; Cuddy's permanently rabbit food and they should accept it and move on," he said quickly. Lydia watched as he turned his head and stared at the doors to the building.

"Are you finished talking to yourself?" she asked gently. House closed his eyes and let his shoulders drop.

"Maybe this is just an effort to be the nice person you keep telling me I really am…" House looked at Lydia. "Whatever my relationship with her was, real or imagined or wished for…good, bad or indifferent…I knew her for the better part of twenty-five years. That's got to count for something."

"Of course it counts; it matters very much. But as you said, it's time to accept things and move on. I'm sure you would love to have one last chance to bust her chops," Lydia said as she placed her hand on House's arm.

"Yeah and to hear her try and best me and fail miserably," he said as he started to walk toward the sliding doors. Lydia approached the reception desk to sign them in.

"Good morning, Ms. Strohman," the receptionist said. "How are you today?"

"I'm good, Jillian; how are you" Lydia asked as she took her visitor's badge.

"I'm fine, thank you. My sister got engaged yesterday."

"Congratulations. When is the big day?"

"Next June."

"Keep me up to date on all the plans. Enjoy your day."

"Thanks," Jillian said as House and Lydia went to the elevators. She noticed him shaking his head.

"Problem?"

"No, you just continue to amaze me at how easily you can have a conversation with someone you hardly know. You are your father's daughter, which is another reason why you'll make a great Dean of Medicine. You'd be the perfect blend of a person who can balance worrying about the money, the medicine and the publicity needed to make this place a first class hospital again." Lydia rolled her eyes as House hit the call button.

"Would you please let me actually get this job first?" she asked. "I still have to convince the state board that this is all a good idea. Stop pushing me up the corporate ladder before I get my foot on the bottom rung."

"You'll charm and dazzle them just like you did the others yesterday. It'll take Cuddy's lawyer a few months to negotiate a settlement with the hospital since she was on the job when she was injured even though she wasn't actually here. Then Wilson will back down from the position and Foreman will go after it. Except by this point, you will have saved the establishment from financial ruin and have finished your degree and thereby become the obvious choice for Dean of Medicine." He graced Lydia with a smile and gestured for her to enter the newly arrived elevator car.

"You certainly do have it all figured out," she said as she stepped in.

"Yep; everything will be back to normal," House said. Lydia looked puzzled.

"How so?" She pushed the button for the fourth floor.

"I'll be able to spend my days lusting after the Dean of Medicine."

"Hmmm…and I won't even have to get jealous about it." The two exchanged looks and started to chuckle as the doors closed.

Making their way down the hallway to the conference room, House and Lydia became aware of the sound of a number of voices; they also became aware of classical music playing which both immediately recognized as Beethoven. They slowed their pace and crept up slowly until they had a view of the room. Taub and Foreman were sitting at the table with coffee mugs in front of them; Chase, Thirteen and Slick were also holding mugs and munching on pastries of some sort. Wilson was walking around while chatting on his cell phone. The source of the music was a laptop on the table that House recognized as Thirteen's. House looked at Lydia with a grim expression on his face; Lydia looked both stunned and amused.

"You asked me why I don't make more use of my days off? This is why. The inmates start running the asylum." They continued to the door and stepped inside. Wilson spotted them first and quickly ended his call. As House's eyes swept around the room, the others became silent. House saw that there was someone standing in the far corner that he didn't know. Although he was intently wondering who the guy was, House was more interested in why his conference room looked like a G rated version of "Jersey Shore." He decided to focus his gaze on the one most likely to break: Taub.

"There's a really good explanation for all of this," Taub began. "He brought these in," he said pointing at Slick and then the pastries.

"Still having wet dreams about Julia Child? Or have you moved up to Emeril? Seriously, what is it with you and running out to cater events around here? You have a secret obsession from the looks of things," House said looking at Slick.

"If only you knew," Slick answered. House shook his head and sat down at the head of the table.

"I can clear this up with one word," Wilson said. "Annie."

"What about Annie?" Lydia asked as she moved forward toward the table. She had remained quietly in the background, letting House deal with his team.

"It seems the college's radio station wanted to interview Annie to promote the concert tonight," began Wilson. "The college has a link with Princeton's public radio station which broadcasts on National Public Radio. The arts director heard how this was a comeback performance and she's going to play with the Philadelphia Philharmonic in two months…that they contacted the people at the national broadcast center and the interview with a live performance is going to be broadcast nationally," Wilson said excitedly.

"That's wonderful!" Lydia said with a huge smile coming over her face. "I didn't think she'd be ready to go back to doing interviews again this soon. Before the attack, she was the one to do all the media and presswork for the orchestras that she played with, even the Philadelphia Philharmonic."

"Impressive," Foreman said nodding.

"Well she was the one who was the most outgoing and the most knowledgeable about the music being performed. The background of the composer had a lot to do with how and what they wrote and she educated herself. It makes her a great subject for an interview," she explained. Lydia clasped her hands together in delight. "This…this is the Annie I know and love." House tried to maintain an annoyed attitude toward his team, but he knew how much the whole situation pleased Lydia; that plus the tears in her eyes did a lot to soften him. "Don't you mean the Annie _we_ know and love?" The voice came from the person in the corner; House had a hunch he knew who the guy was.

"Tom!" Lydia exclaimed as she moved toward him. House's hunch was right, it was Lydia and Annie's good friend Tom; patron saint of the lame and gimpy. He watched the way Tom walked as he met Lydia in the middle of the room. It was an amazingly smooth gait. So far, so good.

"What are you doing here? Did Annie tell you where I'd be? Or are you here seeing a patient?" Lydia asked in rapid fire fashion. Tom laughed at her obvious excitement.

"None of the above. I got an e-mail telling me that some hot new executive will be presenting her secret formula for saving the hospital…and well, I just had to check her out." House liked Tom more and more with each passing minute; he may have been flirting with her a bit, but he was doing a good job of busting her chops. And they had been friends for many years.

"You received an e-mail?" Lydia asked as she eyed him suspiciously.

"Um… we forgot to tell you yesterday that the communications department sends out notification to all departments and their staff, along with all doctors who have privileges at the hospital, any time the state board comes in," Foreman explained. "Then depending how many responses they get, they then can figure out where to hold the meeting."

"And where is the meeting being held?" she asked nervously.

"The lecture hall on the third floor," Wilson answered. "It holds two hundred people and they're expecting standing room only."

"Why so many people?" Lydia asked as she sat in a chair near House. It was then that she noticed that Tom and House kept exchanging looks as well as looking at her.

"Oh I didn't even introduce you two…or Tom to the rest of you. Tom, this is my boyfriend…"

"Dr. Gregory House," Tom said, finishing Lydia's introduction. "I figured it out as soon as he limped into the room. I like your cane." House was still using the piano cane the team had gifted him with.

"Yeah, this thing and my graceful canter are usually dead giveaways," House said holding the cane aloft.

"Actually, I've known who you were for a while; we've just never had the chance to cross paths in our work," Tom said. "Tom Richards; my wife Marianne and I have been friends with Lydia and Annie for about sixteen, seventeen years now."

"What instrument did you say she plays?" Taub asked.

"Violin," Tom answered. "Like Annie, she has played since she was a kid."

"My wife plays pretty well. She's been mentioning wanting to go back to playing in an orchestra again. Maybe she can talk to Annie or your wife about reentering the performance world," Taub said looking back and forth between Tom and Lydia. Tom nodded as Lydia glanced at Wilson.

"I take it you handled introducing everyone before I got here."

"Yeah, while he was busy creating mayhem and anarchy in my department," House said as he made his way over to the coffee machine. "Want a cup?" he said to Lydia.

"Yes, please," she replied. "Do you want some?" she asked Tom.

"I've got, thanks," he said as he sat in the chair to Lydia's right.

"By the way, why is it my fault that your department is taking a little break?" Wilson asked.

"Because it's your girlfriend they are all waiting around to hear proclaim the good news," House said as he poured Lydia's coffee. "If it wasn't for her, they'd be answering my mail and slumming in the clinic and the E.R. for our next case."

"You haven't even finished with Scotty yet!" Wilson protested.

"You never know when that once in a lifetime opportunity comes along to work on a case with a yet undiscovered disease and become world famous."

"You already are world famous," Wilson pointed out wryly. "Besides, Annie is her best friend," he said indicating Lydia. "Why can't this be her fault?" House let out an audible sigh as he put Lydia's mug down in front of her.

"One, she wasn't even here when the banquet started and two, I get certain privileges from her that I neither get nor would I want from you." Wilson was about to open his mouth to say something, but then closed it as he realized House was right.

"Before I forget," Lydia said changing the subject. "Tomorrow night I'd like to have you all over to celebrate my getting full custody of my kids. I never thought I'd get them permanently away from my ex and certainly never this soon. I know this is short notice, but…"

"I don't have any plans that I can't rearrange," Chase said.

"Neither do I," Thirteen said.

"What time did you want everyone over?" Foreman asked. "I'm dropping off my car for some scheduled maintenance and I'm not sure what time I'll be getting it back."

"Around eight o'clock," Lydia replied.

"That should work out fine," he said.

"I'll be there a little closer to eight-thirty with my wife Rachel," Taub said.

"As opposed to his wife Gertrude," House said as he emerged from his office after grabbing his red mug. Lydia and Taub both shot him a look.

"Any time after eight is fine," Lydia assured him. There was a knock at the conference room door and two young women in white lab coats entered.

"We gave at the office," House said. "Oh wait, this is the office. Damn, one of the few places where that line doesn't work."

"Dr. House?" asked one of the two women. "I'm Mary Smith and…"

"She's got to be Jane Doe. It would just be perfect if she was," House said as he sat down. "It doesn't matter; I'm not available anyway. My time for fulfilling father figure fantasies is over. I've been permanently retired."

"No, we're here about your patient, Scott Andrews," the woman said trying not to get flustered.

"He's not available either. He and his foggy girlfriend are attached to each other at the hip."

"Misty!" almost everyone in the room corrected him.

"Whatever," House said.

"We were just wondering why there was no notation of a stroke on his chart," said "Jane Doe." House shot a quick glance at his team.

"That's because he didn't have a stroke," he said. "Somehow around here they frown upon it if you write things on the chart that didn't actually happen. Don't know why; it's worked for me many times in the past."

"Why would you think that he's had a stroke?" inquired Taub.

"When we were doing his PT and OT evaluations, he had noticeable weakness and limited range of motion on his left side," Mary said.

"Has speech therapy been in yet to do their evaluation?" House asked. Mary looked through the papers on her clipboard.

"No, they're scheduled to come in this afternoon. He seemed to be answering questions and following commands appropriately, but his speech was clearly labored." House tapped on the table several times.

"Did you happen to notice in his chart the list of medications that the patient is on?" The young women nodded. "So you saw that less than thirty-six hours after having his head and chest split open, he's receiving Dilaudid among other medications? That powerful little sucker would knock anyone for a loop. I think it would be a safe bet to chalk it up to that."

"Our concern is that functioning on his right side appears to be normal. The patient reports that he's had many falls in the past from prior seizures," "Jane Doe," whose real name was Kathy, said. "If his injuries were caused by prior seizures, we can only refer him to an outside therapist. Our departments can only provide treatment if his problems are the result of what brought him into the hospital."

"Well, then that works out just fine," Lydia said as she stood up. "I'm Lydia Strohman; I'm the director of the Insurance Billing department. I'm also, along with Dr. House and Dr. Wilson, an eyewitness to the seizure that brought Mr. Andrews in here." House sat back, amazed at how swiftly and deftly Lydia took hold of the situation. "We were enjoying the evening at the establishment where Mr. Andrews works as a busboy and I observed him carrying a bin full of dishes with no difficulties, until he had the seizure, of course. Then the bin crashed to the floor when he fell against me, which is how I got this," she said, showing them the bandage on her leg. "He bounced off of me, then fell against the pool table with his left shoulder. He then twisted around several times and wound up slamming into the floor on his left side. I think that it's pretty safe to say that the seizure that brought him in here caused his current disability." Lydia folded her arms across her chest and waited to hear the women's response.

"That clarifies when he sustained the injuries, but there is another issue," Mary said. "He was admitted to the hospital as being 'uninsured.' If that's the case, he's not eligible to receive any extra services, other than ones that would stabilize his medical condition." Lydia looked down at the floor with an amused smile.

"You mean 'extra services' like those would properly heal him so he can go out and become gainfully employed and therefore be fully insured on his next hospital visit?" she asked. The two young women looked at each other not sure what to say. "Don't worry," Lydia reassured them. "Social services submitted his paperwork yesterday afternoon with a priority request. I looked over the packet myself and I see no reason why he would be refused. There will be preliminary confirmation in place by tomorrow afternoon."

"That's great," Kathy said glancing at Mary. "That should cover everything. When do you anticipate discharge, Dr. House? We can set up a treatment plan if you can give us a date."

"It would probably be a good idea to make sure the super glue is holding on his incisions, I'd say no sooner than mid-week," House said eyeing up the therapists. "But you can check with the gang of four at noon Monday."

"We'll do that. Thank you so much for your help and insight," Mary said, addressing Lydia in particular. "Welcome to Princeton-Plainsboro. Good luck with your presentation."

"Thank you; enjoy the rest of your day," Lydia replied. The two women nodded and hurried out of the room and down the hall as Lydia slowly sat down. As soon as the women were out of sight, the comments started flowing.

"That was fantastic," Chase said.

"Have you been taking lessons from him?" Taub asked, indicating House.

"Extra services like those that would allow him to become gainfully employed and have insurance for his next hospital visit? That's something I would expect to come out of the mouth of Gregory House, not the kind and lovely Lydia Strohman," Wilson said with a smile. Lydia was clearly flabbergasted and turned to House looking for help. She got none.

"You lying little minx," he said with a deadpan expression on his face. Lydia's mouth fell open. "He fell in to ze table mit his left shoulder twisted und fell onto ze floor," House said, imitating her accent.

"Excuse you!" Lydia said indignantly shooting House a look. "I saw Scotty carrying the bin of dishes with no problem at all, felt him fall against me and drop the dishes and then watched as he hit the pool table and the floor." House continued to stare at her in silence. Lydia looked away from him and everyone else in the room. "As far as whether he hit on his left or his right side…I had a fifty-fifty shot at being right. If I said the right side, those two scared little rabbits would have hopped away looking for a place to hide. By saying it was the left side he injured, which appears to be the case, he gets treatment for his problem and leaves here healthier than when he came into the hospital; I thought that was the point of proper medical care." She finally looked back at House, who still sat silently. Suddenly, the sound of a person clapping could be heard in the room. Lydia looked over in the direction the sound came from and saw Slick slowly and deliberately clapping his hands.

"Bravo." Slick said with a smile. "I wish more people in the medical profession could remember that when they deal with their patients. I think that the cost of medical treatment would actually go down if lawyers didn't have to get involved to sue insurance companies on behalf of patients to get them the help they need."

"It would also help if they didn't force therapies and medicines on them that are useless. But their little guidebooks say this is the way things should be done, so damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead," groused Tom. Lydia was taken aback at the ferocity with which Slick and Tom supported her opinion; the rest in the room were amused by Lydia's shocked look.

"If this is going to be the response to her presentation later on, you'd better alert security now so they'll be prepared to handle the raucous crowd," House said looking back and forth between Foreman and Wilson.

"It's a good thing I have riot gear stored in my office," Wilson quipped. "I always kept it handy in case he ever did something really over the top," he said indicating House, "and I suffered guilt by association." House gave him a dirty look while Lydia put her head in her hands. Raising it up to look to the end of the table, she saw that Foreman was shaking his head with his mouth hanging open.

"What?" Lydia asked wondering what comment would come next.

"If I ever question whether you two are well suited for each other, I hereby give permission for someone to smack me in the head. You're like two peas in a pod."

"Black-eyed with hominy and grits," said House locking eyes with Foreman, who gave no response.

"You know what was the most annoying thing about those two?" asked Tom, referring to the two therapists. "They know me. They did their residency with me. And yet they walk in here without acknowledging me; not even a nod of the head."

"I think they were nervous about approaching us about Scotty," Chase offered. "They weren't sure what to report based on their observations, but they knew they had to come to us and report something. Plus, dealing with him can be intimidating enough for anyone," he said pointing to House.

"You would defend them," commented Thirteen. "Which one, the blonde or brunette?" Chase thought for a moment.

"The blonde. She seemed slightly more intelligent."

"And definitely more stacked," House added in. Feeling Lydia's eyes burning into him, he quickly finished the thought with, "But not anywhere as good as you, dear." House sat in uncomfortable silence as the rest of the room did their best not to burst out laughing. "Has fire and brimstone stopped shooting out of her eyes yet?" he asked Tom.

"No and with Herr Fraulein, it's not likely to stop anytime soon," he replied trying not to chuckle. House turned to look at Lydia who was doing her best to seem mad. It was no use; within a few seconds of House giving her his pathetic looking puppy dog eyes, she had dissolved into giggles.

"It's a good thing I know you love me for my brilliant and witty mind," she said.

"That and the fact you've got a great rack," House said. He held up his coffee mug as a reconciling gesture; she raised hers and clinked mugs with him to accept the offer.

"I believe the interview is about to start," Taub said, raising the volume on the computer. Slick came and sat down next to Thirteen as the college station announced its call letters. Lydia, House and Wilson exchanged quick glances as the host of the interview show introduced Annie and started their chat. Throughout the entire program, Annie was informative, engaging and amusing. She explained how the selections for a concert are chosen to create a program that would appeal to both well-seasoned patrons and new comers. Even when the interviewer ventured into the area of this being Annie's return to the stage and what had happened to her, Annie managed to keep it light by commenting on her amazement that American Idol was still on and her admiration of the creativity of Lady Gaga. By far though, the highlight of the show was when Annie began to play. After the first few notes, Lydia recognized the song and tears started to roll down her cheeks. House realized which tune she was playing and reached over to take Lydia's hand. The interview ended with host mentioning the concert tonight and an invitation to join the pop orchestra for all of their future concerts.

"Nice," Tom said with a huge grin.

"Beautiful," noted Taub as he slid the laptop back over to Thirteen. Wilson saw how teary Lydia was but didn't know what prompted the reaction.

"Hey…are you OK?" he asked trying to catch her attention. Lydia nodded as she retrieved a tissue from her purse to wipe her eyes.

"When I stepped off the elevators and Greg took my hand and led me into the dayroom at Mayfield, this was the song that she was playing when I first saw her sitting there…and I knew she had come back to me." The tears began to flow freely as she recalled the happy memory.

"She knew you'd be listening now; she was sending a message to you," Tom said.

"She's ready to get back on that stage," House said as he brushed a tear away from her cheek. Lydia looked at him and smiled.

"And I'm ready to see her there." Lydia noticed the time on her watch. "I'd better get to the room and set up." She pushed back her chair and stood up.

"I'll take you down there and show you how thing are arranged," Foreman said. "If there are any changes you want to make, I can call facilities in to move things around."

"Well, we'll see you down there, front row center," Tom said.

"Oh, please don't," she said as she picked up her bags. "If I see all of you right in the front row, I will lose it. Find some seats way in the back; like in the last row," she said as she started to pass behind House and head for the door.

"Nervous Nelly," House said loud enough for everyone to hear as she reached for the door. She stopped walking and took several steps backwards.

"Ball buster," she said in an equally loud voice. Lydia headed once again for the door which Foreman was now holding open. She glanced over her shoulder at House with a twinkle in her eye. "Ich Liebre dich," she said.

"Ich Liebre dich auch," he replied. House watched as Lydia and Foreman made their way down the hall.

"I guess I ought to get down there, too," Wilson said as he put his suit jacket on.

"Wait for me," House said quietly. "I want to talk to you." Wilson looked surprised, but did as House requested.

"Clean the remnants of the party up," House directed. "Put those two mini Boston Crème donuts on a plate and put them on my desk; do not touch them under penalty of extra clinic hours. Keep some of the better treats for the department and send the rest of them down to the nurses' station down in I.C.U.; I'll be going there later and I'll get a better response from the personnel there if I send these in advance of my arrival." House exited the conference room with Wilson trailing behind him, mouthing the word sorry to those remaining in the room.

"You're in rare form today," Wilson noted. "Any particular reason why?"

"Lydia. Last night was fantastic. The dinner came out great, she surprised me by making her grandmother's cookies; we managed to make 'Young Frankenstein' an interactive movie…but the best part was later that night."

"You can spare me the lurid details," Wilson said holding up his hands. House turned to look at him as he pushed the call button for the elevator.

"There aren't any lurid details; get your mind out of the gutter," he said feigning indignation. "Listen up and you just may learn something." Wilson rolled his eyes as House continued. He told Wilson how he had set up the bedroom with the candles, the champagne, the rose and the necklace.

"The thing that really put things over the top, was the fact that I carried her in my arms from the bedroom door to the bed" The door to the elevator opened and House entered; Wilson just stood there dumbfounded at what House said.

"You …you carried her? How…"

"If you want to find out, you'd better get in here because I'm not holding the door open for you," House said, making no move toward the control panel as the doors began to slowly close. Wilson sprung forward and squeezed between the doors, stumbling into the elevator.

"Now, how did you manage to carry her with your leg?" House had a serene smile on his face.

"I didn't use my leg; I used my arms." Wilson gave him a dirty look.

"House…"

"I did it with great difficulty; it killed me every step of the way…but the look on her face was worth it," House said quietly, looking down at the floor of the elevator. The doors on the elevator opened as they arrived at the third floor. House exited first with Wilson following him.

"I must admit, that all sounds very nice and very romantic," Wilson said. He stopped walking down the hall to the lecture room where Lydia would be speaking. "So how did you manage to mess it up?" House stopped and turned back to Wilson.

"Why are you assuming something got messed up?"

"Because you wouldn't be telling me all of this unless there was a punch line somewhere," Wilson said not moving an inch toward House.

"I didn't mess anything up," House said. "Boy have you gotten cynical since you started dating Annie. I didn't think she'd have that kind of effect on a guy."

"Don't… just…she's a wonderful woman," Wilson said as he fumbled for words to try and defend Annie. House took several steps in Wilson's direction.

"I told her the necklace was almost a ring." House took great delight in seeing the shocked look on his friend's face. He began to walk away, but Wilson grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled House over to the side of the hallway, where large windows overlooked the hospital grounds.

"House, that wasn't very nice to tease Lydia like that," Wilson said quietly but intently.

"I wasn't teasing her; I have better ways to do that." He looked out the window and took in the scene of people coming and going from the hospital. "This has been on my mind ever since I had that dream I told you about. Part of me really wanted to just plow on in and get things moving with a possible permanent hook-up. Or is she really just hiding her true _house frau_ from hell persona and all of this is just going to end badly no matter what I do? I decided to throw caution to the wind and bring up the subject." House tried to make it sound like he was treating the whole thing lightly but Wilson knew what House's attitude had been on Monday when he had told him about his dream of domestic bliss with Lydia. It obviously meant a lot to House. It also confused the hell out of House. It was probably best that they talked.

"So, how did it go?" House shook his head.

"I have to start giving her more credit than I do," House admitted. "While the women I've always encountered seem to be of the bodice ripping, costume drama sort of vision of romance…Lydia is different." He told all the things Lydia said, including the fact that she didn't need a title of "Mrs." or a ring on her finger to know that she wanted to spend her life with him. "She said she'd be proud to be Mrs. Gregory House," he said with a slight tone of amazement in his voice. He turned away from the window and saw Wilson smiling at him.

"And you knew she wasn't playing some…reverse psychology game. She meant it." House nodded as he let out a sigh. "Let's face it; we are two really lucky guys. Not that I've discussed anything like this with Annie, but if I did, I have a feeling her response would be very similar." Wilson saw the somber look on House's face and decided some good natured ribbing was in order. "So, should I be preparing my speech to give at the toast?"

"Give me a break," House said shooting a look. "I was about to ask you how you would deal with it if I asked Lydia if we could move in together when their lease is up in a year. That's assuming of course, that the munchkins and I can stand each other." He noticed the number of people who were getting off the elevator and glanced at his watch. "Time to get lectured." Wilson looked at his cell phone.

"I'd better get in there; they're probably wondering where I am," he said starting to walk quickly towards the lecture hall.

"So would you be OK with taking up the idea of co-habitation with your girlfriend in the next year? Or will you be already up to your fifth kid so you two retro music fans can start your own Partridge Family singing group?"

"First of all, you are more than rushing things a little. And second…I was going to ask her to move in after the concert tonight, but I realized she'd be concerned about leaving Lydia alone with the house. I'm sure she'd want to be fair and keep paying her half of the rent…"

"When did the guy who was going to take things slow this time dissolve into Speedy Gonzalez who wants to add a toothbrush to his bathroom after only four days?" House asked as he hesitated outside the doors to the lecture room.

"I met her last week Tuesday; that makes it ten days. And that question is coming from the man who asked his last girlfriend to move in with him only five days after they met?" Wilson immediately felt bad that he brought Stacy up, but he hoped by now Lydia had softened the bitter memories that House had held on to.

"I asked Stacy to move in because I was thrilled that I found a woman who was willing to put up with me for more than ninety-six hours. And she was being abandoned by her roommate." House knew Wilson was staring at him; he had never told him the full circumstances of Stacy's moving in. "Her roommate's boyfriend decided to take a job out west and she waited until the last minute to follow him. Stacy had a week to find another place to live; the lease was in the roommate's name. That's why she had next to nothing to move into my place." Wilson couldn't hide his shock and surprise at what House had said.

"You never told me any of this," he said shaking his head. Looking through the open doors of the lecture hall, House saw Lydia smiling and greeting the various department heads and doctors. He admired her for being able to extend even a small measure of openness to strangers. But, House reminded himself, Wilson wasn't a stranger; he was his best friend and they had shared more than their share of good and bad times. He owed it to Wilson to let him in a bit more. Hell, he owed it to himself.

"There's a lot you don't know," House said bringing his attention back to Wilson. "One night we'll stick the ladies with the kids, grab a pizza and I'll fill in some very big blanks." Wilson knew if anyone else had made the offer to grab some food and chat, it would be no big deal. For House to suggest that they get something to eat and discuss secrets of the past… was an especially significant gesture and Wilson appreciated it tremendously.

"I think that's a great idea," House nodded then pointed indicating the interior of the hall.

"Better get in there and act like you enjoy being a pencil pusher," said House.

"Oh, please," Wilson said rolling his eyes.

"James!" He turned to see Annie rushing toward him and instantly broke into a huge grin. He opened his arms and caught her up in a hug. "I was afraid I wouldn't make it on time." She gave him a kiss and then another and another before she caught herself and remembered where they were.

"People are still trying to find seats. It looks like Tom has saved you two seats in the back row here. I've got to get down there." He gave her a kiss. "You were magnificent, by the way." After another quick kiss, Wilson hurried off down the side isle. Annie turned and smiled at House.

"I like your taste in music," he said as he walked into the hall. "So did Lydia."

"I thought you'd both recognize it. It was always a favorite of mine; from that day when I sat there barefoot and in a hospital gown and played it, it will always have special meaning for me." Annie stood on her tiptoes and gave House a kiss and a hug. "I'm so excited about tonight."

"It's about time you showed up," Tom said. Annie broke away from House and quickly gave Tom a hug and greeted Slick and House's team who had all chosen seats in the last two rows.

"We saved a seat for you, too," Slick said. "We weren't going to, but Tom said Lydia would be pissed if we didn't." House gave them all a look as he sat in the last open seat in their group.

"Yeah, the last thing you want to deal with is a sour Kraut," he quipped, pleased at how much the bad pun annoyed them.

"House, Tom had a good idea in reference to Scotty's situation," Thirteen said trying to quickly change the subject.

"I have to see one of my patients who was admitted and another fellow who is being sent to me when he's discharged tomorrow. After that, I'm free. I'd be glad to stop in and take a look at Scotty. We may be able to avoid any further tests or scans. Depending on what I find, I may be able to send him home with some exercises that I can show Slick and…Misty, is it…can handle."

"And no more tests would mean no more expenses which would thrill Foreman to no end," Chase said. House smirked.

"Don't we all know the Great Bwana all too well?" House said referring to Foreman. "If you don't mind checking in the useless opinions of Ding and Dong, that would be great," he said taking note of some activity at the front of the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen: we are ready to get started. However, two of our guests from the state medical board are caught up in the traffic that the construction on Route Three is causing," Foreman announced. "They anticipate being here in the next five minutes or so. When they do arrive and are settled in, we will begin." The murmured conversations resumed as did the wait for Lydia's presentation to begin.

"Poor Lydia, she's so nervous," Annie noted.

"She looks fine to me," Taub said.

"Me, too," said Thirteen.

"She's playing with her necklace. Anytime she plays with her necklace, she's nervous," Annie said firmly.

"I wish there was some way to calm her down."

"I'm already on it," House said as he hit 'send' on his cell phone and looked to the front to watch her reaction. In a moment, he saw her take her phone out and read his message:

"_Remember, if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bull."_

Lydia had to bite her bottom lip as she turned to shoot House a look. She quickly typed a response and returned the phone to her pocket. House read the reply on his phone and smiled:

"_Moo!"_

House settled down into his seat and prepared to be amazed by Lydia.

_Author's Note: You may have noticed that in the past few months I have been posting chapters with less regularity that I used to. This is because in September I became blind. I lost my vision in my right eye ten years ago, but now my left eye has been affected. Fortunately, a series of operations will most likely restore my sight. While I am something of a touch typist, there is a lot of editing my husband and children have had to do for me. I hope by the end of the month to have regained my sight and have postings return to their normal frequency. There are two chapters left in "And the Children Will Lead"; I hope you are looking forward to reading them as much as I am to writing them._


	15. Chapter 15

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Fifteen – "Two Way Street"

By: Purpleu

"Open wide." House looked to his left to see Lydia holding a cracker with some sort of topping on it.

"What is it?" he asked eyeing the snack suspiciously.

"I just told you a few minutes ago as I was mixing it up," she said taking a step closer to him.

"You assume I was actually paying attention and not just making cursory sounds of approval," said House as he transferred the salsa Lydia made to a two quart storage container. "You do realize you've made enough of this to feed the entire population of Mexico for the next month." House looked at the filled container. "And probably enough for the rest of North America, too. Not that this isn't delicious," he said as he picked up a corn chip and dunked it in.

"I'm glad you like the salsa, but you told me you thought this sounded delicious. I guess I'll just have to eat it myself," she said as she moved the cracker toward her mouth. House reached over and gently grabbed her wrist.

"Not so fast." He opened his mouth and took the entire cracker in. He also lightly bit down on her fingers as he snagged the cracker.

"Hey! I'm not finished using those."

"I'd love to hear what your plans for them are." He nodded his head in approval of the spread. "What's in it?"

"Whipped cream cheese with garlic powder, bacon and dill," Lydia answered as she continued to stir the mixture.

"Hmm…. That was good; think I need some more to be sure." House leaned over to take another cracker, when Lydia stopped him with a playful tap on his hand.

"I swear, you'd never think we had stopped and picked up lunch with the way you're diving in to all of the food."

"What do you think is my motivation for helping you with this? Taste testing, of course. Besides, that was just fast food…this stuff is high quality." House could see that Lydia was pleased by his compliment. "Oh, don't start blushing. You know you're a damn good cook." He picked up a little more salsa with the last chip left on the counter, then put the lid on the container.

"I would like to think I'm pretty good," Lydia said as she scooped the cheese spread to a storage tub. "But it's always nice when the person whose opinion you value the most gives you a thumbs up." She smiled at House as she passed by him to put the food in the refrigerator. "Could you hand me the salsa, too?" House gave Lydia the Tupperware; as she closed the door, he reached out and put his arm around her waist.

"You don't need my approval for anything you do, especially after what I saw today. You could hear the collective 'wow' from the entire audience when your presentation was done. Those sort of informational meetings are usually about as interesting as reading Justin Bieber's biography. You laid out the details of your new department the way Steve Jobs used to introduce a new Apple product. And when addressing all the screw-ups Cuddy made, which put the hospital in financial trouble, you never blamed her and took the time to subtlety remind them all where she is right now and in what condition. The whole thing was fantastic and you were amazing." House gave her a very tender kiss. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Lydia said. "I was so concerned about making a good impression and getting the state's approval for the job. Here I am, coming out of nowhere, heading a new department that I'm defining from its inception. And I was hired by a member of your team and your best friend. On top of that, I'm dating you. I wasn't sure what people would think."

"Yeah, the dating me part is really going to come back and bite you in the ass," House said. Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. I hope you're not talking about the idiot in the pinstripe suit. The nerve of that man, asking if I was sure I could pass a background check, because after all, I'm dating you. That was extremely unprofessional."

"That's not the first time that guy and I have locked horns and it probably won't be the last."

"I don't care what kind of history you two have, it was wrong of him to do that!" She brought her hands up to the sides of her head and began to gently massage the area.

"Fraulein, call off the hounds of Baskerville," House said, making a reference to the Sherlock Holmes novel. "The guy is a moron of the highest order. He's had it out for me for years, ever since his wife came storming into the clinic and announces that she's the wife of Cecil Underwood, Board Member Extraordinaire. She demands to be seen before all the other patients who had been waiting. After examining her, I thought it best to locate her spouse right away and let him know that his wife had an STD. He, and anyone else he was screwing, needed to start antibiotics right away. Could I help it if the only place I could find him was in the middle of a board meeting?" Lydia looked at House with a horrified expression.

"You didn't. You… burst into the middle of a board meeting and just announced confidential medical information?"

"It was before the HIPPA laws went into effect…and I knew Cuddy would never let me get near the PA system." Lydia slowly shook her head.

"You do like to live dangerously," she said. "Dr. Cuddy probably wanted to kill you."

"I'm glad she didn't, cause then I wouldn't be able to do this." House leaned down and started to kiss and nuzzle Lydia's neck. He left a trail of kisses as he worked his way around left ear. She began to whimper, but in pain not pleasure.

"Greg, please don't. I don't want to sound like a cliché, but my head is killing me." She pushed away from House and held both hands to her head once again.

"I was wondering how long it would take for our relationship to go from 'Please don't stop' to 'Not tonight, I have a headache.'" He was going to continue busting her chops, when he realized she was in real pain. "Are you alright? Lydia, look at me." Lydia wasn't moving, so he took her by the shoulders and turned her toward him. As soon as he got a good look at her, he knew what the problem was. "You have allergy shiners that make you look like you've gone ten rounds with Mohammed Ali. Did you have a coat of war paint on this morning? You didn't look like this earlier in the day," he said as he touched her cheeks and watched her wince.

"Ow! Don't do that!" she said pushing his hands away. "Yes, I was wearing make-up. I put a warm compress on my face when we got home, and I figured I might as well take the make-up off."

"Good. You don't need that stuff. This ever happen to you before?"

"Right after Elise was born. I kept having one sinus infection after another until the ENT hit on the combo of Flonase nasal spray and Claratin. It worked well and when we moved out to Arizona, I found I didn't need it at all."

"Sure, different flora and fauna and a drier climate. Makes sense." Lydia looked as if her legs were about to give out, so House guided her to one of the stools she had underneath the counter extension. "Here, before you fall over and I get a hernia trying to pick you up." She shot him a look as she backed up onto the stool. "So now the meds have stopped working." Lydia looked at House sheepishly.

"Not exactly. I didn't have much of either the spray or the Claratin left when I came back here. I used up what I had at the beginning of the week and haven't had the chance to get to the ENT or pick up any Claratin. I've had a few other things on my mind." House stared at Lydia blankly.

"I take back all the nice thing I said before about you being so smart. It didn't occur to you to ask your boyfriend…DOCTOR House…to write or call in a prescription for you. And we've been to how many stores, most of which keep Claratin around as a regular stock item?" House pulled his phone from his pocket. "Have you hooked up with a pharmacy yet?"

"The CVS in the Midway Shopping Center. I had called my OB/GYN and asked her to set up a renewal for my birth control pills. She did it with the understanding that I'd see her within the next few weeks. My ENT wouldn't go for that kind of arrangement; he insisted I come into the office before he'd OK anything."

"Did you explain your problem to the guy?"

"Yes, and he wouldn't budge." House made a face as he looked up the number for CVS. "We need to find you a new Wax, Snot and Phlegm man." He frowned as he pushed the buttons the recorded prompts required. "Date of birth?" he asked Lydia.

"You've forgotten already?" she asked disapprovingly. Now it was House's turn to give Lydia a look.

"I'm sorry, I've had a few other things on my mind," he said, mocking her earlier excuse.

"February twentieth, nineteen sixty-nine," Lydia said wearily. She rested her head down on her forearms on the counter while House walked around, talking to the pharmacist. She heard him request that they put a rush on filling the prescription.

"OK, now to get a hold of Wilson and see if he can stop over there and pick the meds up," House said as he came back into the kitchen. "I don't want to leave you alone; your equilibrium is probably thrown off." He pushed the button marked "Dancing Queen" on his phone and waited to be connected to Wilson.

"Hi; how are the gourmet chefs doing?" Wilson asked as he answered House's call.

"We'd be doing much better if the head chef wasn't sitting here holding her head up with her hands. It seems Fraulein has sinus issues which went bye-bye when she did to Arizona. Now that she's back in the Garden State of New Jersey, the phlegm monsters have reared their ugly heads again," House said as he looked over at Lydia. "Her eyes look like she's ready to play a zombie on 'The Living Dead.'"

"Or in one of your medically induced hallucinations," Wilson quipped.

"Thanks, I was making progress on moving past that part of my life, but obviously you're not going to let me. Where are you now?"

"I'm just about to leave the hospital and pick up Annie from the hairdressers," Wilson said. "The state people have finally left so I can get out of here. By the way, they were very impressed with Lydia."

"As well they should be. She proved she's ready to handle this job…or any other," House said. Lydia picked her head up and looked at him.

"Are you talking about your fantasy of my becoming the head of the hospital? Please don't. I have enough of a headache right now as it is." House shook his head over Lydia's resistance to a job he knew she could one day have. "Can you stop at the Midway Shopping Center, pick up her prescription and a box of Claratin from the CVS? I'd rather stay here and make sure she doesn't do anything foolish like try to make any more food. She already has enough here to feed an army."

"And I bet you've made sure that all of it tastes good," Wilson said with a laugh. "I'll be glad to get the medicine. Annie and I will be there in a little bit."

"OK." House ended the call as did Wilson. "I'm getting you some Advil. It will hopefully take the edge off some of the pain until the other meds kick in." House went to the bathroom and pulled out the pills. "Too bad I don't have any Vicodin lying around. It would come in handy right now," he said as he re-entered the kitchen.

"With the way I feel, I would probably take it from you." He knew she was joking, but House noticed that Lydia's breathing had become slightly labored; he knew she was in a lot of pain. "You want iced tea to drink, I assume," he said as he opened the refrigerator. "Think about switching to water; it'll be more effective in helping to clear the phlegm out." House had no sooner spoken the words, than he heard a thud. He quickly closed the door, and saw Lydia struggling to stand up from the floor.

"I'm sure the floor is clean. You don't need to get up close to do a proper inspection," House said as he put the iced tea and pills down on the counter and rushed over to her.

"I dropped this," Lydia said, indicating the towel she was clutching. "When I bent over to pick it up, I completely lost my balance."

"Look, I know I'm a doctor, but I'm used to diagnosing people and then turning them over to my team and their families to care for them. I'm not a well-practiced hands-on healer." He hooked his arms under hers and helped Lydia stand up. "Let's get you in bed. Maybe you can manage to stay out of trouble there." House put his arm around her shoulders, and led her down the hall to the bedroom.

"This stupid sinus problem is the only medical issue I have. Other than that, I'm quite normal," Lydia said as she sat down on the bed.

"As opposed to me who has two problems: a pain issue and I'm missing a large portion of my upper right leg. I'd say that makes me a bit removed from being normal." Lydia noticed that House was rubbing his leg; whether it was an unconscious gesture or not, she wasn't sure.

"No, you're not normal," she began. "In the past two weeks, you have done so much for me. From finding a place to live, to returning my piano and rocking chair back to me, to supporting me when I went for this job. You've always been there for me. And all the while, you've made me feel happy, secure, loved and intelligent." Lydia smiled. "And sexy and desired. I finally feel the way a grown woman should. That all doesn't take a normal man; it takes someone extraordinary." Lydia leaned into House and snuggled against his neck. House stroked the top of her head as he considered her words. Yes, he did all the things she just named and he would do them again without a moment's hesitation. But she was the only one he could be that selfless with. Even Wilson took a backseat many a time. There was just something that she brought out in him that no one else had been able to do.

"Even with that impressive list that you just reeled off, there are still plenty of people who would point out what a self-centered jerk I am," he said as he kissed her head. "I just hope those S.O.B.s don't try to take it out on you by playing games with you and the department."

"Don't worry; you know I can handle myself around stupid people. I'm not going to let anyone tell me who I can share my life with. And if they don't like it…they can just kiss my ass," Lydia said firmly.

"No, I'm afraid they can't do that. I claim sole and exclusive rights to your ass and I'm not inclined to share them with anyone." House felt Lydia start to shake and saw that she was laughing, not in pain as he feared.

"Please don't make me laugh. It hurts my head too much," Lydia said as she pushed back from House. He looked at her and smiled.

"I'm sorry; I'm just being a self-centered bastard. I like it when I can make you laugh." Lydia sighed as House put his arms around her and held her close. He heard her sniffling and knew that was not a good thing. "Hey, no crying or getting teary-eyed. You have enough mucus doing damage. You don't need any more."

"Hello, anyone home?" House recognized Wilson's voice and heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Just me and Lady Snot-Snot in the bedroom," he called out. In a second, Wilson entered the room with a bag from the pharmacy; Annie was right behind him.

"Oh, Annie…You look beautiful!" Lydia exclaimed, despite her aching head. Even House had to do a double take. He was used to Annie's curly mane of hair flowing freely around her face and shoulders. Instead, while some of it was still brushing her upper body, a good deal of it was gathered up and away from her face. The section that was pulled back had white pearls interwoven into it and she had tendril curls framing her face. Annie looked like a Greek goddess.

"Thank you. But I hate to tell you, you look horrible," Annie said. "I thought you said you were going to ask Greg to write you a prescription for the Flonase."

"She was; she just had too many other things on her mind," House said. He had taken the nasal spray out of the box and handed it to Lydia. "I was about to pour Fraulein some iced tea when she hit the floor. One of you go and grab it?"

"I've got it," Wilson said as he hurried out of the room. A second later, he poked his head back in. "Wait. What do you mean, she hit the floor?"

"She wanted to make sure the floor was clean enough to eat off of, and she fell over in the process."

"I didn't do something that idiotic," Lydia protested weakly.

"No, but you did something equally bonehead by bending over to pick up the towel that you dropped, instead of asking me to get it," House said as he opened the Claratin box up. Wilson went to the kitchen, poured the iced tea, and brought it to Lydia.

"I picked up the store brand of cold and allergy decongestant. With what House was describing, I figured you needed something to kick start the healing process." Wilson held out an orange and white box to Lydia.

"James, that is perfect. That's exactly what I would use on bad days to help relieve the extra congestion. Thank you so much. What do I owe you?" Wilson waved his hand.

"Your boyfriend and I will work it out in pizza and beer one of these nights. Don't worry about it."

"When is this happening?" Annie asked smiling at Lydia at the thought of the men having a night out.

"We wanted to wait and co-ordinate the timing with you ladies. House and I were talking earlier today and realized it's been a while since we hung out and just…I don't know, played some video games and whatever. So House suggested we do a pizza and beer night and I said it sounded good." Lydia smiled when Wilson said that the get together was House's idea. Wilson maybe his best friend, but it still took something for House to initiate a social encounter. She was very pleased. "I found these near the iced tea. Are they for you?" Wilson held out the Advil House had left on the counter.

"Yes, they are. Do you think it's OK that I still take these, or would that be overkill with the sinus pills?"

"Believe it or not, I'm actually going to say to play it conservative for now. You can take those when you wake up later if your head is still hurting," House said as he reached over Lydia and picked up her cell phone. "What time is our presence requested over there tonight?"

"The doors to the lobby open at seven. The musicians and staff can come out and greet their guests and they'll be serving champagne. Then at seven-thirty, we go backstage and you guys can go to your seats. The concert starts at eight, is over by about ten, and then there's the rooftop reception with a buffet and open bar."

"Between the alcohol and the food, this sounds like I might actually be able to tolerate the evening." He saw that Wilson, Annie and Lydia were all giving him a dirty look. "Oh, and of course, the dulcet sound of our master cellist."

"You'll enjoy it," Annie said reassuringly. "Despite the fact that I couldn't convince them to add any Stones to the playlist. Maybe next time."

"You could have tried for Muddy Waters," House said as he stood up. "After all, it was one of his songs that the Stones got their name from. You," he said to Lydia, "Stand up while I pull back the covers." Annie moved forward and set the bed so Lydia wouldn't have to be on her feet for too long. "I'm going to set the alarm on your phone for five-thirty. Before I join you in slumberland, I'll set my alarm for a little bit after that." Lydia looked up at him gratefully as she settled onto the pillow.

"Thank you for taking care of me," she quietly.

"It's to my own benefit. I want to see you in that dress you been teasing me about." House bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Get some sleep."

"Bye, sweetie. See you later," Annie said as she left the room.

"Feel better," Wilson said following Annie.

"Thank you for your help, James," Lydia said as she closed her eyes.

"Greg, could we grab a couple bottles of water from the refrigerator?" Annie asked.

"Sure, if you can find them among Martha Stewart's party delights," House said as he turned on the dishwasher.

"I know it looks like she's overdone it, but believe me, there will be very few leftovers," Annie said with a laugh. "She's a great cook." Annie took two bottles of water out and headed over to the counter extension. "Can I bother you for a favor?" she asked as she sat down. House got a soda for himself and let out a long sigh as he went to sit with her.

"What I did at Mayfield wasn't enough? It's already lost its golden glow?" he asked as he cracked opened the bottle. Annie ignored his wisecrack and made her request.

"Please convince Lydia to stop trying to take care of everyone and everything all the time. Get her to make time for herself once in a while. First she took care of her parents, then me and the kids. She gave up her dreams to take care of all us." Annie tried to fight the tears, but it was no use. "That whole horrible, mess almost cost me my life," she said angrily. "And it cost Lydia hers. She locked herself into trying to save me, subjecting herself to my lunatic brother. The only good things that came out of that debacle for Lydia, was my niece and nephew and meeting you." House squirmed at Annie's words. He knew that Waa how Lydia felt, too. But it seemed strange to hear it from someone else, even if it was Annie. "The only thing that Lydia has ever done to make herself happy was moving back here to find you. And in my opinion, it's the best thing she could have ever done."

"That's because you knew you still owed me big time, and the easiest way to repay me was to bring Fraulein here," House joked trying to lighten the moment.

"I guess it's a start," Annie said. "Lydia's finally getting all the things she's wanted…you, her kids, a good job and most important, respect. I remember when we talked one night after my brother screamed at her all day, Lydia made a list of the things that she would love to have or do. The only thing missing now is some traveling."

"Traveling?" House asked in a pained voice. "I would have thought she had done enough of that in her younger days."

"Not the way she wanted to. She's been to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York and various places in New Jersey. The New York stop was only overnight; the one place she went was the U.N.. I know she'd love to go to New Orleans or…"

"Didn't you go to the Grand Canyon when you were in Arizona?" inquired Wilson.

"Nope. Somehow, things just never worked out to get there. As far as foreign travel? Her parents would take her to the Great Wall of China and say 'See, it's a wall.' In half an hour, they'd be gone. I know she'd love to go back there, and to some of the temples in Japan. She was upset that she didn't see more of the pyramids. Of course, a trip back home to Germany is something she would love to do." Annie let out a sigh. "Even if she never gets a chance to travel which might be tough with the kids, she's extremely happy with the life she's got. Thanks to a certain person I know." Annie cell began to ring. "It's the concert master. I'll be right back." She hopped off the stool and headed into the living room to answer the call.

"What is it with you and women who have wanderlust?" Wilson asked when Annie was out of earshot. "Stacy wanted nothing more than to go to Paris, but you refused to take her."

"No, one of her friends let it slip that she wanted nothing more than to get married in Paris. It was then that I burned my passport and flushed the ashes down the toilet," House replied.

"But things are different now. Different circumstances, a different woman…"

"Different expectations from said woman," interjected House. He made a face. "I'd want to make sure that her kids and I could stand to be in a car for ten hours or up at several thousand feet in a pressurized cabin before we wander too far away."

"Nothing says you have to take the kids on all the trips; or even most of them while they're this young. Do the ones close to home with them and save the more exotic place for just the two of you. You do have a more than willing babysitting service or two around if you guys wanted to go somewhere," Wilson said with a smile. House looked out through the window to the backyard and nodded his head.

"I'll take that under advisement." Annie came back into the room looking a little flustered.

"There's a slight problem over at the concert hall and they'd like me to come in a little early, like six instead of six-thirty."

"Sure, that's not a problem," Wilson said rising off the stool. "Is everything OK?"

"Someone finally took a look at the program to make sure it was correct, but it's not. We have to figure out how to handle it. Damn! I should have known it would be a bad night"

"Everything will be fine," House said taking a drink of his soda. "You're returning to the stage; all is right in the world." Annie went over to House, and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"You do know how to put perspective on things," she said. "I'll see you later. Are you coming down?" she asked Wilson.

"Right behind you," he said. "See you later, House." House sat in the kitchen thinking things over. He eventually got up and took his soda and himself into the bedroom. Lydia looked very peaceful as she slept; he hoped that meant that her pain was gone or had at least lessened. He gently sat down on the bed and pulled out his cell to set the alarm. Placing it on the night stand, he swung his legs up on the bed. So Lydia, he said to himself, you want to go for a walkabout as Chase's people would say. There were some great places where he had lived and visited in his youth, but they were also extremely lonely. If he were honest with himself, he wouldn't mind going back to some of them again if he had the right company. House looked to his left at Lydia's sleeping form. Yeah, she was definitely the right company. Maybe one day he could surprise her with a trip. Right now, he thought as he closed his eyes, he had to figure out the finishing touches on the surprise he had for her tonight…

Lydia stepped onto the sidewalk outside the concert hall and took a deep breath. She felt a thousand times better than she did earlier in the day. Other than feeling a little worn out from the pain, she was ready to have a great time. But nothing revived her the way House's surprise did.

She had seen him in a suit and tie before at the cocktail reception at Mayfield, but those clothes weren't his and she could tell he wasn't particularly comfortable in them; tonight was an entirely different story. House was wearing a charcoal gray three piece suit. He had on a white shirt, a red tie, a matching pocket square and the black dress shoes he wore to dinner on Monday. The biggest surprise had nothing to do with clothes, though.

House had shaved his beard.

A few days ago, she had commented on a picture of him when he was younger and clean shaven, but she never expected this. Knowing how he preferred his scruffy, rebellious appearance, this was definitely out of character for him. She loved the unkempt look on him, of course. But this…this absolutely took her breath away.

"We're lucky we made it out of the house without molesting each other. You keep eyeing me like that, we're not going make it inside," House said walking over to her.

"If it weren't for the fact that Annie is performing tonight, I probably would take you up on that offer," Lydia replied. "Greg, you look so incredibly handsome."

"Yeah, I know I usually look like a homeless guy. I knew you were going to look even hotter than usual, so I'm hoping this will keep away the competition." Indeed, Lydia did look stunning. She wore a silk, off the shoulder dress that ended several inches above her knees in her favorite color, forest green and it clung to every inch of her body. Three inch black heels, a black wrap and the necklace House gave her, completed the look. He was right; she was definitely going to turn heads.

"I like your usual style. It's the way you looked when we first met. I knew you'd dress appropriately for tonight, but this is quite a surprise," Lydia said giving him the once over.

"You spent a quarter of your life making sure that this would happen one day. It's as important to you as it is to Annie," said House. "I wanted you ladies to know that I'm giving the event it's proper due." Lydia smiled as she ran her fingers along his bare chin and gave him a kiss. "Let's get inside and dazzle a few people," House said as he took her hand. They entered the lobby and started to look for anyone they knew. "Fraulein, this way." House headed to his right where Annie and Wilson, his team and Tom and his wife, Marianne stood.

"I hope she feels well enough…OMG!" Annie exclaimed as she caught sight of Lydia and House. Her mouth was hanging open as she walked over to them; so was everyone else's. "You are apparently feeling much, much better. You look incredible."

"Thank you. I'm feeling great," Lydia said. She looked Annie up and down. "It's been so long since I've seen you in that dress. And I see you wore your grandmother's locket." Annie had on the black dress that she always wore when she played years ago. It was simple, flowing freely down to her mid-calf. With her hair done up, it was easy to see why Wilson's eyes followed her everywhere.

"I could never perform without this on," Annie said as she fingered the jewelry. When I got the dress back from the cleaners and I realized I didn't know if it still fit. But it still does."

"You didn't need to worry about gaining any weight at Mayfield," said House. "The food there was bottom of the barrel…and I do mean trash barrel." Annie walked to House.

"Lydia, who is this handsome gentleman you have with you tonight? And does Greg know you're stepping out on him?"

"I'm Greg's evil twin; and if you think he's a piece of work, you should see the crap I can pull," House said with a wicked grin. He felt Lydia let go of his hand as she went to greet Marianne.

"Greg, this is Tom's wife, Marianne," Lydia said.

"Hi, Greg; it's so nice to meet you finally," Marianne said as she extended her hand. House took it with a slight hint of hesitation. He never felt comfortable shaking hands with anyone, but especially not a woman; it just didn't seem like an appropriate greeting.

"So, are you two ready to rock and roll?" House asked looking back and forth between Annie and Marianne. He was trying to remember what instrument Tom's wife played when violin finally popped into his head.

"I told you, I couldn't get them to put the Stones on the playlist," Annie reminded him. "They turned down Led Zeppelin, too."

"Just promise you're not doing any part of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' and I'll deal with it."

"Oh, we would never play that piece," said Marianne sarcastically as she looked around avoiding House's gaze. "We wouldn't do that, would we Annie?" She then leaned toward Annie and said in a stage whisper, "I can't believe you didn't tell him." House liked her right away. Marianne had strawberry blonde hair and striking green eyes. House also thought he detected a trace of an accent.

"What part of Ireland are you from?" he inquired.

"Killarney. I was born there and moved here when I was twelve. Most people don't pick up on my accent," Marianne said. She sounded pleased that House had pegged it. "I'm very surprised."

"This is going to be a night of surprises, both on stage and off," said Annie before House could reply. He looked at Annie and saw that her focus was on someone behind him and Lydia.

"Hello, Lydia. Hello, Greg." House recognized the voice immediately, but Lydia was faster than he was at turning around.

"Steve! Oh, my God, I don't believe it!" House now turned and saw that he was right. Steve aka "Freedom Master," was indeed standing there with them in the lobby. House noticed the attractive brunette standing next to him as well. "Steve, you look absolutely wonderful," Lydia said as she hugged him.

"Yeah, see what happens when you stop jumping off the top of parking garages," House quipped. Steve laughed as Lydia stepped back.

"Look who's talking. You seem to be doing well," Steve offered his hand, but after all that happened at Mayfield, House didn't resist when Steve turned it into a hug. After all, he gave Alvie a hug when he left. Annie introduced House's team, Tom and Marianne, and Wilson to Steve.

"I had clued everyone in on who Steve is and how he figures into my being here tonight. If it weren't for these three people," Annie said putting her arms round House and Steve as she looked at Lydia. "I wouldn't be getting up on that stage." House glanced over at Steve to avoid looking at a teary-eyed Annie. He noted that Steve did look very happy, very healthy. But it wasn't the fact that the mop of blonde hair was gone into a neater style or that he was dressed far less casually than at Mayfield. The vacant, little boy lost look in his eyes was gone. His gaze was crisp and his voice stronger than House had remembered it being.

"Annie, I can see someone like Steve getting involved, but you must have been some medical mystery for House to get so deeply immersed in things." Foreman said. "That's the only way he shows any interest in a case."

"No, I had ulterior motives. If I could make her happy," House said as he nodded his head toward Lydia, "then she would be eternally grateful to me and be like putty in my hands and other places. The only problem with the plan was she left after I worked my magic."

"I…I was going to say I did not, but I did, didn't I?" Lydia responded.

"I'm so glad to finally get to see you again, Greg. We left some unfinished business between us." said Steve. Oh no, thought House, here it comes. Steve's now alert and with it and he wants to ream me out for what happened when he kidnapped Steve from Mayfield. Fair enough, I deserve it. "I never had the chance to thank you for what you taught me." House gave him a strange look.

"Can't say that I recall spending any time in front of a blackboard," noted House.

"I thought if I was some kind of superhero, I could save people, instead of standing by helplessly like I did on nine-eleven. But after you left Mayfield, I started to realize that trying to step out of the way of bullets or fly wasn't the way to do it. They dragged you off to solitary more times than I could count for standing up for me, for Annie, for a lot of people who were lost like me. I came to the conclusion that I needed to get back to reality because there are much more important ways to be a hero," Steve said as he put his arm around the brunette next to him. "This is my wife, Brenda." Everyone smiled at Steve's obvious pride in introducing Brenda.

"Nice to meet everyone. I hope by the end of the night, I'll be getting everyone's name right," Brenda laughed. House was relieved that Steve didn't hold a grudge, but he didn't understand Steve's admiration of him. He just fought the authority in the place, nothing special.

"Champagne?" A waiter had come around with a tray that held small flutes of champagne. They could have been a little more generous, House thought to himself, but Annie had reassured him that there was quite a spread to come.

"If I may offer a toast," Tom said after everyone had a glass. "To two lovely ladies who finally came back home."

"Hear, hear," Wilson said as everyone raised their glasses.

"House, sorry I didn't call you about Scotty. I had a hell of a time convincing one of my patients to go to rehab," Tom said.

"What's the deal with our future Frank Lloyd Wright?" House asked.

"He does have both new and old injuries from the history I got from him. I asked Taub and Thirteen to get a set of new x-rays, and a CAT scan. Chase is going to go through the files that Slick brought in and see if there's any ancient history in there that can help me see how long he's been getting hurt. The bit of therapy I did with him today was very basic, but he did well. He might have a torn rotator cuff, but the tests will show that. By the way, Frick and Frack were right; the damage is all on the left side."

"Um…we don't know yet if Scotty's been approved for assistance from the government or not," Foreman said. "We can't go rushing in with a bunch of tests if they're not going to be covered. The old injuries are not a part of what put him in the hospital." Tom glanced over at House and Lydia, trying to hide his amusement at Foreman's paranoia.

"I've been wording care plans for years and I very rarely run into any trouble with the insurance companies," Tom said. "And if in Scotty's case I do, I'll take it up with the hospital's new director of insurance billing."

"Treading on friendships already?" Lydia asked. "I give out only so many free passes. Use them wisely." She and Tom locked eyes and the two burst out laughing "Do you have your phone handy?" she asked House.

"Yeah; you leave yours at home?"

"No. You can access the network at the hospital, correct?" House only hesitated for a split second, then grinned as he set up the phone for her. He handed Lydia the phone. She started to very intently push buttons and then after a minute, smiled.

"Scotty was approved late this afternoon." There was stunned silence until Chase finally spoke.

"How the hell did you get to the social services files?" he asked.

"That usually involves hacking into a computer unless you have the person's password," Brenda noted.

"Greg logged on to the hospital's computer system, I put in Laura's password, which she's his caseworker by the way, and I looked up Scotty's file." Lydia shrugged as if it were nothing.

"Laura gave you her password?" Thirteen asked.

"I was in her office to talk about Scotty, and she had to sign back on to her computer as I was standing behind her desk. I…happened to take note of it."

"Why did you do that?" Foreman asked.

"Because, Dr. Foreman, I knew when Tom said what the game plan was for Scotty, you'd get yourself in a twist and you wouldn't be able to enjoy the evening," Lydia said as she handed the phone back to House.

"My God, you're as evil as he is," Wilson said indicating House.

"Thank you," she said flippantly. Everyone started to dissolve into laughter as they shook their heads.

"Anyone still wondering why Fraulein and I are a couple?" House said as he handed Lydia back her champagne. A chorus of no's came from the group, all of whom were still trying to regain their composure. "Didn't think so." Suddenly, the sound of two cell phones could be heard.

"That's our signal to head backstage," Marianne said smiling at Annie.

"Go knock their socks off, sweetie," Lydia said as she hugged Annie. Lydia gave her a kiss and Annie turned to Wilson.

"Good luck, Babe. I love you," he said giving her a kiss and hug.

"I love you, too." She and Marianne hurried off to a door across the lobby.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the doors to the theater are now open."

"Showtime," House said as the group made its way to theater proper. House hung back a little with Lydia and they brought up the rear on the group.

"How did you know what Tom was going to say?" he asked quietly.

"It only makes sense that Scotty would need therapy and I know how hyper Dr. Foreman is about money matters. He would stew about it all night and put a damper on the evening which I wasn't about to allow. So even though I didn't really have Laura's password, a little creativity and problem solved."

"What happens if Scotty isn't approved for the aid?" Lydia shrugged.

"I dealt with Social Services from both the state and county when I was taking care of Annie. He'll be approved. Besides, there's more than one Scott Andrews in this world…Oops! I looked at the wrong file. Oh, by the way, when you go into work on Monday, check your computer for a very, very private message." House started to chuckle.

"Boy, do I ever love you," he said.

"I love you, too," she said. They were shown to their seats and given programs, which everyone except House started to read.

"House, it looks like Annie pranked you," Taub said. House scowled at Taub's delight at the thought that one had been put over on him.

"How so?"

"Look at the fifth song the orchestra is doing," replied Taub. House opened the program to the list of songs for the night. Sure enough, there was "As Tears Go By" by the Stones.

"Revenge will be mine," said House. "And you know first-hand what a bitch that can be." The lights began to flicker several times, indicating the concert was almost ready to begin. The musicians had taken the stage and were doing the usual tune ups before the concert. The lights went on and off a second time, then dimmed. The orchestra started with a selection of various classical and pop pieces. House got his Rolling Stones fix, which made him smile as he watched how intently Annie played the song. A series of classical pieces followed with Annie having solos in several of them. Then the conductor picked up a microphone.

"I thank you all for coming here tonight. This is the start of our twenty-fifth year of providing opportunities to the students and professional musician to work together. Our program, unfortunately, omitted a wonderful example of this. We are pleased to present our tribute to the musical 'Wicked.'" It will feature two of our students, Jason Warwick and Susan Myers and one of our professional musicians who has too long been absent from the stage, Miss Annie Harris."

"It looked like she just pranked all of us," Lydia whispered to House. She had never mentioned Annie also being a singer, so House was surprised. The tribute's first two songs were nice enough, performed by the students. Then Annie stepped forward. House admired her beautiful tone and vibrato, but he wasn't sure if it was the words of the song she sang, "For Good", that made him take notice.

_Who can say if I've been changed for the better?_

_I do believe I have been changed for the better,_

_Because I know you, because I knew you,_

_I have been changed for good._

Whoever wrote those lyrics, must have been spying on his life in the recent years. The best, however, was yet to come as Annie and Susan, came together to perform "Defying Gravity." They set it up as if they were on Broadway, acting out the characters with Annie playing the part of Elphaba, "the green one." The student was good, but when Annie sang solo in the last part of the song, she blew it out of the theater. She made the song her anthem, her statement that she was back. The audience seemed to agree; they gave her a standing ovation. The playing of Revel's "Bolero" ended the concert. Annie's "Fan Club" just looked at each other in amazement as Lydia sat in her seat with tears flowing down her cheeks. She wasn't alone, as Wilson had obviously been affected by Annie's work.

"Need a tissue?" he asked reaching into his pocket.

"I think an entire tree's worth would be a better idea," House said.

"I'm fine. I managed to fit a lot of them in my purse," Lydia said as she pulled some out.

"So, you didn't know that Annie was going to sing?" Rachel Taub asked.

"I knew she said there were some surprises tonight, but I never expected that. She always has either been performing with groups like this or in the orchestra pit for one of the professional theater groups in the area. And if she wasn't playing in the pit, she was up on stage singing," Lydia said as she dabbed at her eyes. "I'm just so thrilled for her."

"I'm going to head out to my car to get the flowers I bought," Wilson said. "I'll meet you upstairs."

"Do me a favor," House said reaching into his pocket. "Ours are in my trunk."

"I think several of us need to go get flowers," Tom said. "Let organize who goes to the cars, and who gets to go secure our table."

"Is it first come, first seated?" Steve asked. "Because a lot of people have left the theater before us."

"No, we're table seven," said Lydia. Everyone went off, either to the parking lot or the rooftop. House and Lydia found the elevator, and took it up to the reception. The party was everything Annie had said it would be. There were two bottles of wine on each table and waiters were bringing platters of appetizers, to each table there were several open bars, the promised buffet, and a DJ at the end of the roof with a wooden dance floor in the center. Table seven was at the side edge of the floor. House and Lydia settled in along with the rest of the group. The parking lot people joined them in a few minutes. It took a little bit longer for Annie to join them. Lydia rushed over to her and threw her arms around her.

"I waited so many years for this, and it was worth every second of the wait," Lydia said tearing up again.

"Thank you, thank you for everything you've done for me," Annie said hugging her tightly. Annie turned to Wilson who held a bouquet of red roses in his hands. "You already gave me flowers earlier in the week."

"Those were because I knew I was falling in love with you. These are because I love you even more." Annie had a beautiful smile as she hugged him.

"I love you, too," she said. "Oh, this table looks like a florist's shop." There were flowers from everyone to Annie, and Marianne as well. They managed to tuck them under the table to make room for their food and drinks, which is what interested House right now. As conversations started, House decided to just sit back and observe at first. It surprised him that Foreman and Chase played musical instruments; Foreman the bass guitar in a jazz band in college and Chase played the electric violin. House found it ironic that Rachel was the one to propose to Taub; too bad she didn't know what she was getting into. House also learned Steve was a C.P.A. Brenda worked as an office manager for a cardiologist. She and Lydia had a field day talking. House wasn't silent, he jumped in with his typical smart-assed comments, but not as many as usual, since he had to admit to himself this wasn't the disaster he had feared it would be. He was actually enjoying the night.

"Want to take a walk?" House asked Lydia. She nodded her head in agreement. They made their way toward the DJ, passed by his set op and stood behind him near the edge of the building. "Let's play the Princeton version of 'Where's Waldo,'" he said leaning against the wall. "Can you see where the hospital is?" Lydia looked out over the spread of land below her.

"Over there," she said pointing to her right.

"Where's your house?" She surveyed scene.

"That way, a little bit behind the building. My turn. What's that dark area over there?"

"That's where the crane collapse was," House said quietly. Lydia saw that the event still bothered him and why not? It was only about two months ago.

"Are you OK?" Lydia asked putting her hand on House's back.

"I've spent my whole life resisting change, looking for stability I didn't have as a kid. I've had more changes in my life recently…"

"Are you unhappy with the changes?" she inquired a bit nervously.

"With you? Of course not. You're the one thing that's making it easier to deal with it all." He sighed. "If I hadn't been a stubborn ass that night, Cuddy wouldn't be strapped to a wheelchair, with a machine deciding when she should breathe and drool running down her chin. It's my fault and even if I apologize, she won't hear it. It's the one thing that won't change."

"Greg, the emotional wounds are still fresh. You need to give yourself time…"

"No matter how much time I give myself," House said cutting Lydia off. "It won't fix anything. If Cuddy could talk, I know she'd never forgive me."

"Maybe you should start by forgiving yourself." House closed his eyes. He reached for Lydia's hand, pulled her toward him and held her close. She felt his breathing quicken and deepen; she knew he was trying to avoid a display of emotion. After a minute, he pulled back and looked at Lydia.

"How do you always know what to say to help me through my usual misery?"

"It's because I know you, because I knew you," she said quoting Annie's solo from the concert. House shook his head and smiled at her.

"I love you," House said.

"I love you, too," she said gently touching his cheek.

"You do like the hairless look, don't you?" Lydia laughed.

"I'll take you any way I can get you," she replied.

"I'll remind you of that statement when we get home. Come on, let's rejoin the others." They walked past the DJ booth and Lydia suddenly realized that House was not next to her. She looked back and saw he was pointing to the wires on the ground and talking to the DJ.

"Everything OK?" she asked when he joined her.

"Yeah, one of his wires was loose and it caught my cane. He apologized." They returned back to the table. Lydia sat down and took a sip of her wine.

"I hope everyone has been happy with our music selection tonight," the DJ said. "As always, we welcome requests and dedications. I've got one now that I think is one of the most beautiful songs a man can dedicate to his lady. This is "Lady" by Kenny Rogers and it goes out to Lydia from Greg." Lydia was stunned as she turned to look at House. He stood with his hand extended to her, just as he had done at Mayfield. Lydia put down her glass of wine and let House lead her to the dance floor. She was sure that House didn't really know this song; it was definitely not his style. But the lyrics couldn't have been any more perfect for them.

_Lady, I'm you knight in shining armor and love you._

_You have made me what I am and I am yours._

"I don't think they'd mind if we join them," Wilson said taking Annie's hand.

"Lydia is some kind of miracle worker," Foreman said shaking his head "It's like he's another person. That is not the way House usually acts."

"With Lydia it is," Steve said. "At Mayfield, he tried to turn the place upside down, breaking all the rules. But when it came to her, he mainly broke rules so they could be together."

"What's the matter with you?" Thirteen asked Foreman. "Haven't you ever heard what the love of a good woman can do to a man?" Foreman was about to answer when Tom spoke up.

"Look, this may be way out of line, but I'm going to say it any way. I think until you hear the whole story, you could cut House some slack. I know," he said holding up his hand to stop Foreman. "I know. I've been associated with the hospital for ten years, so I know House's reputation. And he's apparently been very honest with Lydia about all of his past, personal and professional. I wouldn't be too happy with him either. Let's remove the issue of being dragged around the world, always being the new kid in class, never being able to form any normal social contacts, never making any friends. If you want, discount the stories of abuse, although Wilson spoke to House's mother a few years ago and she admitted they were true. He just couldn't bring himself to admit to House that he knew the truth. Tom looked out on the dance floor and saw the look of pure happiness on his friend's face as House got a little fancy with his footwork and twirled her around.

_You have gone and made me such a fool,_

_I'm so lost in your love._

_And yes, oh yes I'll always want you near me._

_I've waited for you for so long._

"If you're talking about his leg and his addiction to Vicodin, you're not going to find many sympathetic ears here," Chase said.

"Yeah, I am talking about his leg. I know I have a bit of sensitivity on the subject," Tom said banging on one of his artificial legs. "And I know first-hand what it's like being addicted to painkillers for both physical and emotional pain." He looked at Marianne. "I couldn't have made the recovery as completely as I did without this lady. " The two exchanged smiles. "Lydia asked me if I would see if I could do something to lessen House's pain, give him more strength in his leg, and let him get a decent night's sleep. House reluctantly agreed to give it a try. This afternoon, he gave me his medical records file. I was horrified by what I saw in there. I don't know if he's ever bothered to take a look at it, but with his insatiable curiosity, I'm sure he has." Tom looked at House and Lydia as the song ended.

_You're the love of my life…_

_You're my lady_

"And?" Chase asked. "What did you find?"

"From the films and scans that I saw, I can only conclude that either the surgeons were totally incompetent and should have never been allowed in an O.R. or…they deliberately crippled House."


	16. Chapter 16

"And the Children Will Lead."

Chapter Sixteen-"All Roads Lead Home"

By: Purpleu

"Now you know the story of House's leg, and how it was butchered," Tom said as the elevator doors opened into the lobby. He had gathered House's team and Slick to take a look at the films and scans in House's medical file. Lydia and House were picking up her new mini-van, so he had some time to let everyone in on the bombshell he dropped on them last night.

"You know, I thought you were talking out your ass," said Slick. "But man, as bizarre as it sounds, this seems deliberate."

"The thought of a conspiracy toward House, to get back at him and Wilson for being whistle blowers is far- fetched," Tom responded. "But the Security Department's records clearly indicate that members of Princeton Surgical Associates had confronted our boys in the lobby, screaming obscenities and almost getting physical. That surgical group had complaints filed against them by House and Wilson, but they weren't the only ones; this group screwed-up things in practically every department. But Wilson filed three separate complaints and House recommended criminal charges be filed. The hospital was ready to suspend their privileges, but they invoked the right of appeal."

"How the hell did Cuddy allow this group to operate on House?" Foreman questioned.

"There are a lot of things I wish I could ask Cuddy," Tom said grimly. "I think they had someone from their group that Cuddy wasn't familiar with, present to her that doctored scan that showed House needed all that tissue out. He or she probably ID'd themselves as being part of the proper surgical group The same surgeons that took out House's infarction and was supposed to remove the necrotic tissue were from Surgical Associates of Princeton, a very similar name to the bad guys. The name on the posted sheet outside the O.R. was Princeton Surgical Associates; the name had been changed, so no one would question them being there. This whole thing was a family operation; there were the father and son surgeons, and the wife of the son was one of the O.R. nurses that day. The one who schedules and posts the sheet outside the O.R. was the mistress of the son."

"Nepotism is a lovely thing," Taub said sarcastically.

"I can't believe they were stupid enough to leave the doctored scan of House's leg as well as the original, legitimate one in the file," said Chase. "Clearly, it's not House's leg; he had the infarction in his right leg and the scan was of a left leg."

"Why the hell didn't Cuddy notice that?" Taub asked.

"Who knows? What about the other nurses and the anesthesiologist?" asked Thirteen.

"And who told the other surgical group not to show up?" Slick asked.

"There were two other nurses there; they have dropped off the face of the earth as has the anesthesiologist. I need to do a more extensive search on the web. The father died two years ago and the son, wife and mistress left the country right after all this happened. Their last known location was unknown," Tom explained. "The other surgical group said they received a phone call, stating that the patient decided to delay surgery and they would be contacted at a later date."

"Was a stink ever raised about this? I mean, someone had to call for an investigation," Slick said. Tom shrugged.

"House never said a word about it, never questioned what happened. I don't know that he's ever looked at his own medical file."

"With his insatiable curiosity? His need to know the how and why of everything?" questioned Foreman.

"He wants to know about everyone else. Either he figured out what happened, or he is playing ostrich. Besides, no one believed him about his pain; his colleagues all wrote him off as a drug addict," Tom said giving everyone an accusing stare.

"If we had known what they did to him in that operating room, we would have far more compassion toward him," Foreman said in their defense.

"Really? You require proof to have sympathy?" asked Tom pointedly.

"I'm still trying to process what those bastards did," Chase said angrily. "They removed seven to ten times the muscle they should have… the majority was healthy tissue! They should have taken out what amounts to my index and middle fingers together. Instead they took out something the size of my fist and left him with damaged nerve endings. He's been in agony for years. What House has in there now, will do nothing but kill more muscle and nerves. Everything in there is going to slowly die until he loses the leg." Chase slammed his fist into the wall.

"Chase, take it easy," said Thirteen. "None of us are happy hearing this."

"Let's take it outside, so I can put this back in my trunk," said Tom holding up House's medical file. They started walking to the front door of the hospital.

"How did you find out all this info so quickly?" Foreman asked.

"I took a quick look at the file after Lydia finished her presentation and red flags went up immediately. I have a connection or two in the records department; the reason I showed up just before House and Lydia last night, is that I was delving into all of this. I also came in early this morning."

"So what's next?" Taub asked as they stepped outside.

"There are a lot of tests I need to run and he's got a lot of P.T. in front of him. The problem is I think there's some new necrotic tissue in there that has to come out if he's to have any chance to improve." Tom went to his car, put House's file in the trunk and removed a plastic bag.

"Good luck with that," Slick said. "After what happened last time?"

"I'm counting on Lydia's help with that. She's got him to open up, and start to show people what he's really like. She knows he can be a piece of work, but as she says…there's Greg and then there's House."

"Look, we don't hate House; we're not thrilled with some of the crap he's pulled in the past. Certainly, we have great respect for his medical knowledge. But we just can't figure him out," Thirteen said. Tom smiled.

"Isn't that true of most enigmas?" he asked.

"All I know is Lydia is going to have her hands full," Slick said as he returned from his car.

"And most likely Annie, too," Tom said. "I can see Wilson blaming himself for what these bastards did to House. My understanding is he doesn't handle guilt well."

"Boy, is that an understatement," Foreman commented.

"Please don't say anything to House, Lydia, Wilson or Annie. I don't want to ruin the kids' homecoming with news like this. I'm going to run the tests I need and do some more digging. Then, I'll sit them all down. Please, if not for House, for Lydia's sake," Tom pleaded.

"Don't worry," Thirteen said looking at the others. "We won't say anything." They all nodded in agreement.

"Thanks."

"They're here," said Chase.

"Wow!" Taub said. "That's no soccer mom van!" No, it was not; it was a high gloss black with subtle gold flecks in the finish. There was gold pin-striping going down each side, around the rear window and on the hood. The look reminded Foreman of a Firebird.

"How do you like my new wheels?" Lydia asked as she hopped out after pulling into House's spot.

"This is unbelievably cool. You," Thirteen said to House, "had something to do with this. Pin-striping on a mini-van?"

"For your information, the only thing I did was ask them to add the striping to the hood; the rest was already there," House answered. "The credit goes to the original buyer."

"He's under the delusion that this car was ordered by one of the housewives of New Jersey," Lydia said rolling her eyes. "I'm letting him have his fantasy."

"You've let me have all my others," House said with a grin.

"Changing the subject," Slick said laughing. "Is the body on this van longer than usual?"

"Yes, it was custom made," Lydia said. She pushed a button on the clicker and both side rear doors slid back. "It has bucket seats behind the driver's and passenger's seats with a refrigerator between them. Also, there are two benches."

"It also has a five disc CD player with a Bose system, a DVD player with separate headphone jacks for the munchkins," House said. "In case I don't feel like hearing 'Finding Nemo' for the twenty-third time. Plus, an alarm and GPS."

"You know, I'm beginning to believe that this was ordered by one of those wacko housewives," Foreman said. "I don't mean to pry, but this must have cost a pretty penny."

"Not as bad as you'd think," smiled Lydia. "It turns out whoever ordered it, cancelled the next day. Whatever happened with the paperwork, the factory didn't know that and delivered the car to the dealership. They were forced to keep it and had been trying to get rid of it. Greg talked them into showing us what the dealer's cost was, and then got them to accept only that."

"Nice going," Taub said nodding his head admiringly. "I think your kids are going to love this."

"I hope they will," Lydia said, obviously very happy. "Well, I have to go and register the car with security."

"OK, but before you go in, we all have a little something for you, for the party later. We figured you'd want to chill it," Thirteen said. Slick held out a bottle of champagne to her, as did each member of House's team. Tom held two bottles of sparkling apple cider for the kids. Lydia clasped her hands to her face and started to tear up at the thoughtful gesture.

"You did take your sinus meds today, didn't you?" House asked as he stepped over to Lydia. She nodded in the affirmative.

"Thank you all so much; this is so sweet of you." She went to each one and gave them a kiss and a hug. House helped her collect the bottles, and mumbled thanks as he did.

"We heard you already took care of the food for the night, and since this is something to really celebrate, the champagne seemed appropriate," Foreman said.

"Marianne and I decided to make sure the kids could join in with something special," Tom said.

"Let's put these in the seat pockets," House said after looking things over. He slid some bottles into the pocket behind the driver's seat; Lydia put the rest in the passenger seat pocket.

"We can unload them when we pick up Annie and James. I'm going to run inside and take care of this," Lydia said holding up some paperwork. "Then we can have a nice, leisurely brunch and head to the airport."

"You realize we're going to be there way early," House said. "Maybe I can check out the reclining seats and grab some shut eye."

"I'd much rather be early than late," Lydia said as she shrugged. "I'll be right back." House noticed she practically skipped toward the hospital doors. Lydia was happy and excited, and House liked seeing her that way.

"Saw pictures from last night," Slick said. "You two made a hot couple."

"Lydia was the hot one; I dressed that way in self-defense," deflected House.

"Bulldinky." Thirteen said. "When you went up to the buffet for the fourth or fifth time, Lydia told us the reason you dressed up last night. You're busted!" House looked away and didn't reply.

"Have you talked to Annie or Wilson this morning?" asked Tom.

"Fraulein gave the songbird a wake-up call when we left for the car dealer. I think they got about as much sleep as we did, which wasn't much. When Fraulein and I got home, we were too busy doing the horizontal hustle to get any sleep. I wasn't about to let the way she looked go unappreciated."

"House, TMI," Thirteen said shaking her head. Slick was laughing, and as he did, he turned toward the hospital entrance. His smile quickly faded.

"Uh…House? Lydia is running this way and she doesn't look happy," he said.

"That son-of-a-bitch! He has to pull one last stunt to get me upset!" Lydia said trying to catch her breath.

"What happened?" House asked coming over to her.

"My ex called, but he set it up as a time-delayed voice mail. His company needs him in Miami this afternoon and in order to make the connecting flight, he and the kids are landing at Newark at eleven-thirty. He claims he only found out yesterday and he forgot to call me. Bull!" Lydia was furious, but House could tell she was also scared. "He's done this before when we were supposed to meet after a visitation."

"Get in the van, I'll drive. Text Annie and Wilson, tell them to be outside." House glanced at his watch. "It's ten-fifteen. We'll make it." Lydia nodded as she got in the car.

"Thank you, everyone. See you tonight," Lydia called out as they left.

"Calm down, Fraulein," House said making a left out of the parking lot "Look at it this way: you'll see the kids sooner than originally planned." Lydia put her head back against the seat.

"I know," she said. "I'm just mad at myself that I let him get to me."

"In an hour or so, you'll never have to deal with him again. You'll be stuck with just me." Lydia smiled and let out a sigh.

"Promise me one thing: don't hit him or do anything else crazy. I hear that conjugal visits aren't very much fun." House chuckled as he made the next turn.

"I never make promises," he said as he continued to snake his way through the streets to Lydia's house. Glancing over at her, he got the feeling that there could actually be a confrontation. "I promise," House said reluctantly. He made the left onto Lydia's block and spotted Wilson and Annie standing by the curb.

"I'm going to have them help me run the bottles into the refrigerator in the garage," Lydia said as they pulled up.

"Whoa! Nice car!" Wilson said, very impressed.

"I don't believe what that jerk-head brother of mine did," Annie said. "Don't you dare let him see you upset."

"I'm trying to keep it together," Lydia said. "Please help me take these bottles into the fridge in the garage. Everyone had champagne bottles for us and Tom got sparkling cider for the kids."

"That's nice. I guess we can add them to the one we already put in there from us," Wilson said. He took an armful of bottles and headed to the slowly opening garage door.

"You two didn't have to get anything," Lydia said as she reached the appliance. "This is a celebration for you, too."

"I may be Aunt Annie, but you are their mom. This is about you and the kids," Annie said with a smile. She hugged Lydia as Wilson put the last bottle in the refrigerator.

BEEP! BEEP!

"We've got to move; I just looked up the plane info and it's coming in a little sooner than expected," House called out. The three ran out of the garage, with Annie pausing for a moment to click the door closed. She climbed in the van, and Wilson closed the door behind her as House tore away from the curb.

"How early are they coming in?" Lydia asked.

"Eleven-fifteen. I checked on the GPS and we should have a smooth ride there. By the time they get out of the plane and down to the baggage area, it'll be fine." Lydia let out a sigh and nodded.

"Have you two recovered from last night?" Wilson asked as he yawned. "Because I know we haven't."

"I told Lydia if her offspring don't take a nap so we can get some rest, I'm going to tell them to play in traffic," said House.

"I think that since they had to get up so early to catch their flight, and they have the time difference to deal with, it will tire them out enough to want to lay down."

"Let's hope," House said as he turned onto the highway and quickly moved to the fast lane. The ride to the airport was fairly quiet since they were all wiped out from the festivities of the night before. Lydia pointed out a few features of the van, but didn't go into much detail; she was too tired to talk and they were too tired to listen. At exactly eleven-fifteen, House pulled the car into a spot on the top level of the parking garage. It was fairly empty and he positioned the van so the kids would see it as soon as the elevator doors opened.

"We're at the building where you're meeting the kids and they are still taxiing around in their plane. Told you we'd make it," House said taking Lydia's hand as they started to walk to the terminal. They entered the building; the various luggage claim areas were laid out in front of them.

"What was their flight number?" Wilson asked as he looked at the monitors.

"It's at the gate," Lydia said. "Maybe they're already…"

"Mommy!" House looked to his right and saw Lydia's kids sitting on some chairs that lined the railing dividing the claim area from the rest of the terminal. Lydia ran to them, scooped them up in her arms, and kissed them.

"Do you see your darling sibling anywhere?" House asked Annie. He had noticed that there was no adult anywhere near the kids.

"No, and I'm not surprised," she replied. "I'm just as happy not to deal with him." House, Annie and Wilson walked toward Lydia and her children.

"Aunt Annie!" Elise squealed when she caught sight of her. Annie picked her up and hugged her tightly. Lydia sat down on one of the seats, continuing to hug Ben. Wilson and House slowly made their way closer to the ladies.

"I shouldn't even bother to ask, but where is your father?" Lydia inquired of her son.

"He said he had to go to his other plane," Ben answered. "He said that if you didn't come, we should find a policeman and tell him you left us here. But we knew you'd be here." Ben leaned into his mother for more hugs. House looked over at Annie and Elise; the kid was talking away with her aunt, obviously thrilled to be with her again. It was a very lovely domestic scene that House was entirely unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. He was about to step forward so he could make an attempt to talk to the kids, when a loud voice interrupted him.

"You sneaky little thief! You stole my phone! Give it back to me right now!" A red-faced man stormed up to Ben. Lydia quickly put her arms around her son and dropped her head down in a defensive position. House assumed this was Lydia's ex, and he was not happy seeing the effect he had on Lydia. She was absolutely terrified. Despite his promise, he wasn't about to let this bastard get away with anything; he had caused her enough pain.

"I didn't steal it!" Ben protested. "You fell asleep on the plane and you dropped it. I was going to put it in the seat pocket, but I was afraid I'd forget it, so I put it in my backpack." Ben started fumbling with the zippers on his pack, but finally pulled out the phone.

"I'm going to believe that? You lying piece of…" Lydia's ex raised his arm to backhand the boy. Lydia pulled little Ben in closer and turned so that she would take the blow, not her son. After a few seconds, she realized that no strike came. Lydia looked up to see that House had hooked her ex's arm with his cane and spun the creep around to face him.

"What the hell?" House unhooked his cane from the guy's arm.

"Ben," House said to Lydia's son. "May I please see that phone?" House spoke calmly, but matched the ex's steely gaze. The boy handed the phone to House, who gave it a cursory look. "There doesn't seem to be any damage to it. I understand you have a flight to catch. Why don't you just take this and make a permanent exit from their lives?" House said looking toward Lydia, the kids and Annie. He held the cell out and the man took it from him with a deliberate, slow motion.

"I get it. This is the new man in your life," Lydia's ex said. "A cripple. Boy, you're really having all those idiotic dreams of yours come true, aren't you?" He reached over to touch Lydia, but House stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"I suggest you go catch your plane," House said firmly. The two men locked eyes and Lydia's ex started to nod his head.

"You want to start with me? Prove that despite that thing," he said indicating House's cane, "you're really a man. You want to take me on." House glanced over at Lydia, still huddled up and shaking, clutching her son. Annie stood to the side, holding Elise, who buried her head into Annie's shoulder. Wilson had his arm around the two of them, standing between Annie and her brother.

"Actually, what I want from you, I took a long time ago," House replied. Looking back and forth between House and Lydia, her ex waved his hand in disgust.

"The hell with it; you can have the bitch." With that, Ben Harris stormed away and out of Lydia's life. House moved over to Lydia, sat down in the seat next to her, and offered her a tissue.

"Are you sure you don't want to plead temporary insanity for willingly subjecting yourself to him?" House shook his head and put his arm around Lydia. Keeping one arm around her son, Lydia moved into House's arms. "Do me a favor: next time, don't ask me to make a promise that's going to be impossible to keep."

"I know, I know…Greg, I'm so sorry for what he said to you. You're more of a man than he could ever be. You protected my kids, you protected me…" Lydia began sobbing uncontrollably. "I love you so much." House nodded.

"After that performance by Mad Dog Harris, I must look like a prize," he said. House looked at Lydia's son; Ben was still scared as all hell.

"Thank you for stopping him from hitting my mom or me," the boy said timidly.

"Well, I didn't think letting him do it would be such a great idea." Ben gave a slight smile.

"I like your cane," he said. It was the one with the piano keys. House held it up for inspection.

"I like it, too. Don't like the fact that I need it so I don't fall on my rear end." Ben had moved away from Lydia's arms, less frightened than before. Elise had wriggled out of Annie's arms and joined her brother in front of House.

"HI, I'm Elise. This is my brother Ben," she said.

"I see. Well, I'm Dr. House; I'm her boyfriend. That guy," he said pointing at Wilson with his cane, "Is Dr. Wilson; he's your Aunt Annie's boyfriend. Hmm…let me see if I get this right. Blood-filled donut, pus filled donut," he said pointing to Elise and then Ben. House was referring to their meeting on Skype the other day when Elise had a jelly donut and Ben a Boston Cream. The two kids giggled, pleased that House remembered them and their favorite donuts.

"Right!" Elise exclaimed. Annie had moved to a chair near Lydia; her brother's tirade upset her.

"Are you alright?" Lydia asked her.

"Yes, I just don't believe the way he treated you and these two beautiful kids all those years," she replied. "He's…he's such…"

"He's a poopy-head," said Elise very seriously.

"Elise!" Lydia admonished her daughter, "I've told you that's not a nice thing to say."

"What's the problem with it? The kid speaks the truth," House said coming to Elise's defense. She giggled again; the girl seemed to like the fact that House was on her side.

"Come on," Lydia said shaking her head. "Let's go pick up your lacrosse stick from the baggage claim and we can get going," Lydia said to her son. The group started to walk away, but Ben didn't. "What's the matter? Did you forget to pack it up? It's OK; we can call Patty and ask…"

"It got broken," Ben said looking at the floor.

"Daddy broke it," Elise offered. Lydia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What happened?"

"We were in a park and I was playing with it. Dad was talking on his phone and he didn't watch where he was going. He walked right into me as I swung it, and it hit him. He got so mad, he grabbed it out of my hands and broke it." Ben wouldn't look at his mother. "Then he threw the pieces at me." House was clenching and unclenching his fists. It was a good thing Lydia's ex wasn't standing in front of him at that point. Promise or no promise, he'd put a world of hurt on the guy. Lydia knelt down next to her son.

"We can always get you another stick. You didn't get hurt, did you?" she asked gently. Ben shook his head no. "That's the most important thing."

"But I bought that myself with money I saved. I found it at a garage sale that Patty took us to." The child's face had turned red and it was apparent that he was fighting back tears. "I don't get it; why was he so mean to us? We were good most of the time weren't we? Why did he hate us?" The hurt and confusion of not having his father's love was on display as Ben held on to his mother. House saw that Elise was tearing up, too. He understood their pain all too well. One day, he would tell them that he knew what they were feeling; now was not the time. Lydia hugged her son and reached her arm out to Elise, who joined in the group hug.

"You two are the most wonderful kids any parent could hope for. Don't ever worry about the fact that he didn't think that, too. It's his loss." Lydia kissed both of her children and took a few more minutes to reassure them. House stayed near them, but turned his back to the scene as he fought his own emotions.

"You OK?" Wilson asked quietly as he casually moved over near House.

"I've got a bunch of demons doing a cha-cha in the recesses of my brain. Other than that, I'm doing great."

"Good to know," Wilson replied, giving House a look.

"You know, that stick was really too big for you; you could hardly hold it properly. Now, I know someone who played both lacrosse and soccer in high school and college. In fact, he was an all-American in both sports," Lydia said glancing at House. Ben caught sight of the look.

"You? Really?"

"I know, hard to believe when you see me with this thing," House said nodding to his cane. "But I didn't need it back then."

"Wow…that's really cool," Ben said admiringly. "Would…would you teach me some of the stuff you know?"

"Me, too," said Elise. "I play soccer." House hesitated for a moment, but then answered.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see if I can make David Beckham and Mia Hamm out of you."

"Hey, I don't know about you two, but we are starving," Wilson said to Ben and Elise. "Want to head out and get something to eat?"

"Good idea," Annie said gratefully. "And you get to see your new car." They all left the terminal and headed to the parking garage. House instinctively went to take Lydia's hand, but he found that both of hers were occupied by her kids. He hung back with Wilson and Annie, chalking it up to a lesson in sharing. In a few minutes, they were all in the elevator. When the group arrived at the roof and the kids saw the van, they absolutely flipped over it. Ben thought the pin-striping was awesome. Elise liked the refrigerator the best. House secured the kids' car seats in the bucket seats, while Lydia gave out juice boxes and water to everyone. Next she started doling out packs of Goldfish crackers. The snacks were a good idea; they held off everyone's hunger pangs long enough for House to give the kids a two cent tour of their new home town. Awed by the hospital, Ben asked when they could see the inside.

"I need to go there Monday to do some things for my new job," Lydia said. "Maybe then."

"Your mom told us that you're interested in medicine, that you want to be a doctor," Wilson said to Ben.

"Yeah, I really like to learn about how the body works. Also, what kind of stuff can make you sick and how doctors figure out how to help people. What kind of doctors are you guys?"

"I'm an Oncologist," said Wilson. "I…"

" You take care of people with cancer." Wilson did a double take at how quickly Ben responded. "What about you, Dr. House?"

"My specialties are Nephrology and Infectious Diseases."

"Wow, two of them? That must have been hard."

"Well, it wasn't easy," House quipped. "I suppose you know what Nephrology is about." Ben though for a moment.

"I'm trying to remember," he said.

"Give you a hint," said House. "I have to pee."

"The kidneys!" Ben yelled out.

"Right; what about Infectious Diseases?" Ben again thought things over, a little longer this time.

"Did you study diseases that are caused by bacteria and viruses?" The boy surprised House. He tried once more to trip Ben up.

"Can you name a disease that isn't in the infectious category?" Ben was quiet for a bit and House was sure he got him.

"Diabetes," Ben answered. As House pulled up near Cherry Valley Deli, he began to think that it just might be interesting having Ben around.

"Has anyone ever called you Doogie Howser?" House asked turning around to face Ben.

"Yep, my mom," he said as he climbed out of his booster seat, and waited for Wilson to open the door.

"I want to be a musician like Aunt Annie," Elise said as Wilson helped her out of the car.

"That's nice," Wilson said still amazed by Ben's knowledge.

"Come on, kids. Let's go see what you guys want to eat," Annie said leading the children into the store. House joined Lydia and Wilson on the sidewalk where she was trying not to burst out laughing.

"OK, you told me he was interested in medicine and you told me he was bright…but the kid is seven. What the hell has he been doing, reading Merrick's Manual under the covers with a flashlight?" House asked.

"Elise doesn't seem to have developed her diplomatic skills yet," Wilson noted. "She has no qualms about expressing her thoughts."

"That's for sure," Lydia said as they headed to the deli. "I think what's surprising you, Greg, is how much Ben bears a resemblance to the boy you once were," she said to House.

"Except while we both had jerks for fathers, at least he has a pretty good mother."

"Pretty good?" Lydia questioned as she laughed. Suddenly, the kids came rushing up, naming practically everything on the menu for their choices. After getting them to narrow things down, the adults made their selections. In a little bit, they were back in the van and headed to Lydia and Annie's place.

"Here we are," Lydia announced as they pulled into the driveway. "Aunt Annie lives downstairs and we live upstairs."

"Mom, there's a box on the steps; maybe it's the books I bought at the garage sale," Ben said. "Patty said I'd get them today."

"My cousin Patty is obsessed with garage sales," Annie explained. "She and the kids used to ride their bikes all over hunting down treasures."

"What books did you get?" Wilson asked.

"Two books about first aid and a book about the body. Elise got a kid's book about Beethoven."

"What was the name of the book about the body?" inquired House.

"I forget; something with a color in the title." House and Wilson looked at each other.

"'Gray's Anatomy'?" they asked together.

"Yeah, that's it," Ben said getting out of the car.

"I wouldn't want to be a doctor," Elise said. "You have to take froggies out of smelly jars and cut them up. I think that must make the mommy froggie very sad."

"How do you know the mommy isn't in the jar next to junior?" House asked. Elise considered his question.

"Well, that's OK, because they'd be together in froggie heaven," she replied.

"Here, you can carry this in," Lydia said handing the box she retrieved from the steps to Ben. "See you inside," she said to the guys as she headed into the garage entrance. Wilson reached into the van and picked up the food bags.

"Froggie…heaven." Wilson said slowly. House grabbed his cane and pushed the clicker to close the door.

"Fraulein never told me I'd be dealing with the afterlife of amphibians," House responded.

"Why do I think that the pizza and beer night…just can't come soon enough?" Pausing to close the garage door when they were inside, House gave Wilson a look.

"Because we just entered 'The Quasi-Parental Twilight Zone'." They went into the main part of the house to find that Lydia and Annie had quickly shown the kids Annie's apartment. As they headed for the stairs, House dreaded the climb; but the idea of seeing Ben and Elise's reaction to the piano took his mind off the pain for a moment.

"And here is where we live," Lydia said as she reached the top step. Elise was right behind her and had the first look at their new home. She spied the piano immediately and screamed.

"Ben, we've got a piano!" Ben got to the top step and followed his sister's gaze.

"Oh, man! Mom, you got us another piano!" Ben exclaimed.

"Ben, no…this is Mommy's piano. There's the burn on one of the keys." Ben hurried over and his eyes popped out when he saw the mark.

"How…?" he asked looking at his mother. "How did you get it back?"

"I didn't. When I got back here, I told Dr. House I sold it. He knew I was very sad, so he asked Aunt Annie to help him contact the music school I sold it to. He bought it back, shipped it here, and had it fixed up." Both Ben and Elise looked at House with amazement. As Ben continued to look around the room, he spotted the rocking chair. He walked over to it slowly, as if he didn't believe what he was seeing.

"This is Oma's rocker," he said almost reverently. Ben knelt down and ran his hand along the underside of the chair. Elise walked over.

"Are the names there?" she asked. Ben nodded, but he was clearly confused.

"You said it broke," he said to Lydia.

"It did. I had explained to Dr. House what the chair means to our family. So, he took the pieces and had Dr. Wilson and Aunt Annie take them to Uncle Tom's brother's workshop where he repaired it." Elise had gotten down on the floor with her brother, but now she jumped up and ran to House. She threw her arms around him and gave him a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said in rapid succession. "You made Mommy and us happy." House wasn't sure how to react.

"No problem," he said. He quickly left the room and headed to the kitchen to start unpacking the food. Wilson brought the bags he had carried in and placed them on the counter.

"I think you just scored some major brownie points," Wilson said quietly. House shrugged.

"I spent some money, big deal."

"You did something very thoughtful for Lydia. To the kids, it's a big deal," Wilson noted. He picked up some of the food and carried it into the dining room.

"Dr. House, where does Mom keep the paper plates and napkins? We're going to set the table," Ben said.

"See the cabinet on the end," he said as Wilson came back into the room... "Open it and pull out the top shelf. Some people will need forks; they're in the drawer above the cabinet." Ben did as House directed; then he and Elise carried the items to the table.

"She has them well trained," House said.

"Most kids like helping out if you make it a request rather than an order," Wilson said. "Add on to that the fact that Lydia's kids are particularly mature, it's not surprising."

"How are you getting this parental insight to kids? You've been trying to avoid the species just as much as I have." Wilson looked down at the floor.

"I deal with more kids than I care to think about. After their third or fourth time in the hospital," he said sadly, "you begin to get an idea of what makes kids tick." He picked up some more of the food and followed House into the other room. Lydia had put a table cloth and placemats out and the kids did their part to ready things.

"After we eat, you can see the rest of the house. Right now, I think we're all starving," Lydia said. The room was quiet at the beginning of the meal; they were all too busy using their mouths to eat. But in a bit, conversations started.

"Dr. House, do you like to play tea party?" Elise asked. House stopped in mid bite and eyed the little girl up. Thankfully, he was able to buy himself some time by slowly chewing his food.

"No, I do not participate in drinking imaginary beverages with miniature representations of human beings. However, at the hospital, we have a really neat playroom for sick kids. And I've seen Dr. Wilson in there a bunch of times having a tea party." House didn't look over to Wilson, but he felt his eyes boring into him. "I'm sure he'll be glad to play."

"Do you know how to play poker?" Ben asked House.

"Texas Hold 'Em, Five Card Stud, Seven Card Draw and whatever else you want to throw at me."

"He showed us those games and some others, too," Elise said. House assumed "he" was their father. "It was the only time he played with us," she said sadly.

"What I don't like, is that after he taught you the games, he taught you how to cheat at them," Lydia said. "You know that's not allowed."

"That won't be a problem, will it?" asked House. Ben and Elise exchanged looks, not sure how to take what House said.

"No," they said together.

"Why don't we clean off the table, and then have a look at the rest of the house?" Lydia suggested. Ben and Elise got up, gathered the garbage from the table and took it into the kitchen pail. House walked over to Lydia.

"Don't worry. In one or two hands, I'll have mastered the game and cheat far better than they can. They'll be so confused, that it'll make them go back to playing the right way," said House with a smirk.

"You have a very interesting approach to the problem," Annie commented. "What if it doesn't work?"

"She'll get to make more of those 'mom faces' that are so much a part of childhood." House said indicating Lydia. He grabbed his soda, and headed into the kitchen. Lydia, Annie and Wilson came in carrying the used kitchenware, and placed them in the sink.

"I'll wash those later," said Lydia. "Who wants to see the rest of the house?"

"Me! Me!" both kids said. They all went down the hall where Lydia showed them the bathroom they would use, and the master bedroom with its bathroom. The next stop was Elise's room; the door was closed to hide a surprise.

"My room is so pretty!" Elise was clearly thrilled but the biggest thrill came when she looked at the area where Lydia had set up the furniture for her American Girl Doll, Molly. "Mommy! You got Molly a bed…and it looks just like mine!" She ran out of the room, to the living room, and returned with Molly. Elise laid the doll on the bed and turned to Lydia with a huge smile. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me; thank Aunt Annie."

"I thought that since you were getting to be so big, it was getting too crowded for both you and Molly to sleep in the same bed, anymore," Annie said as she knelt down to her niece.

"Thank you, Aunt Annie." Elise said throwing her arms around Annie.  
"I love you."

"I love you, too." Annie replied. House had enough of looking at pink things and he turned to walk out of the room. As he did, he saw Ben standing there looking bored.

"What's the matter? Not into hearts and rainbows?" Ben shook his head. "Me either. Let's see if I can move things along. Hey, Mom," House called from the hallway. "Can Doogie see his digs now?"

"Why not?" Lydia answered. Ben opened the door to his room.

"OMG…that is so awesome!" Elise came to see what Ben was looking at; when she saw it, she screamed and grabbed her mother.

"Mommy, why is there a skeleton in Ben's room?" In the corner, was a life -sized skeleton hanging on a stand. "Is that a real person?"

"Was that a real person?" House corrected. He looked down at Elise. "Yes. We must have boiled it in that oil for hours to get the skin off."

"Mommy!" Elise cried out, clearly terrified.

"Greg!" Lydia scolded House.

"It's plastic," Ben said to his sister. "See?" He tapped on one of the ribs.

"It's fake," Wilson said. "I would never let Dr. House do what he said."

"Did you get this from the hospital?" Ben asked as he inspected the figure. "Is it the size of a real person?"

"Yes to both questions. In a storage room, there's a bunch of broken models. Dr. Wilson and I manage to find enough bones to put this one together. And this person would be about five foot seven." Elise walked over timidly, and finally touched it.

"This is so great. Thank you." Ben said.

"Now when you look at 'Gray's Anatomy', you'll have a visual of what you're reading," House said. "Of course my intention was to scare the poop out of your sister." Elise had a hurt look on her face.

"That's not very nice," she said. Whoops, House thought to himself, I think I stepped over the line.

"I wouldn't do that to you. We piano players have to stick together." Elise's face turned from sad to happy at the mention of the piano.

"Can we go out in the backyard?" asked Ben. "We can…never mind."

"Never mind what?" his mother asked.

"I was going to say we could play soccer, but Dad kicked and lost our balls."

"I think if you go outside, you'll find something to do. Why don't you three go with them and I'll be out in a minute."

"I'll help you finish cleaning up," Annie said as they walked back to the kitchen,

"I just have to rinse these things and put them in the dishwasher; go out with the kids." Wilson and Annie led the children outside and House started to follow. He stopped when he heard the kids' squeals of delight when they saw the soccer balls and goals that he, Wilson and Annie got for them.

"I didn't realize how unbelievably loud kids can be," House said as he opened the deck door. He looked at Lydia, and saw she wasn't exactly smiling. Oh, crap, he thought; how badly did I screw-up?

"Nice save with Elise and the skeleton," she said "Having fun?" House was relieved that he wasn't in trouble…for now.

"It's not as painful as having impacted wisdom teeth removed without anesthesia." Lydia rolled her eyes and started laughing.

"We'll talk about things later," she said. House stepped outside and saw that the kids were kicking their new balls around. House studied them from the deck for a few minutes, taking note of how each handled the ball. Descending the steps, House called them over and started to give them some pointers. He was very careful to offer suggestions and not hand out criticism like his father did. Lydia came down after a few minutes and sat down with Wilson and Annie.

"I knew Greg would be fine with the kids. As much as they have my idiotic brother's DNA in them…they are every inch you." Annie said to Lydia. "And Greg fell in love with you, didn't he?" Lydia closed her eyes.

" Thank God he did." After a while, Lydia's prediction came true: the kids got tired and wanted to take a nap. It couldn't have come a moment too soon for the adults, who could barely keep their eyes open. Lydia made sure Ben and Elise were comfortable, then joined House, Annie and Wilson in the kitchen.

"I am getting a bottle of water and then I'm passing out," she said.

"We're going to go crash, too," Annie said. She turned to House. "You…are doing great with the kids." Annie gave him a hug, then she and Wilson headed downstairs. Lydia turned to get her water out of the fridge.

"Hon, do you want…" Lydia realized she was alone in the room. Sure enough, when she went into the bedroom, House was already on the bed.

"Sorry, I had to get off my leg," he said wincing as he changed positions.

"Do want some Advil?" Lydia asked.

"I just took some." Lydia came over and lay down on the bed next to him.

"You overdid it with the kids. I loved watching you with them, especially since you were so worried about how you would get along." House stared up at the ceiling.

"Annie seems to be giving me a passing grade…how about you?" Lydia turned onto her side to face House.

"Other than a couple of minor stumbles, I couldn't be more thrilled with how things are going. You're still uncomfortable with things like Elise giving you a hug, but other than that…the kids seem very at ease with you."

"I think they're still trying to figure me out. As far as the stumbling thing, it kind of goes with the territory when you're hanging out with me." Lydia laughed.

"I like hanging out with you. You're fun and crazy and sweet and thoughtful. And I love you." She propped herself up on her elbow so she could lean over and give House a kiss.

"We do fun things together; calculating the lifespan of a slug in your backyard for example," House said.

"Oh, poor Elise she was so horrified that she stepped on that thing," Lydia said. "I think she would have handled it better if both you and her brother didn't start teasing her."

"Just another one of those stumbles. She forgave me when I started calling her 'Curly Top.'"

"She's so proud of her curly hair. She thinks it makes her look like Annie," said Lydia.

"And with the color of it, she looks like a cross between the two of you." House stretched his arms out and brought them down around Lydia. "By the way, I like hanging out with you, too. You're all those really nice things you said about me…and you're sexy as hell besides. I love you, too." He pulled her in for a kiss…and another…and another.

"Greg, we can't get too carried away," Lydia reminded him.

"Yeah, 'cause you left the door open," he complained. "It's OK, I think the only part of me that isn't tired, are my lips and they're fading fast."

"Let's get some rest while we can; it's going to be a late night." Lydia gave House a kiss, put her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes. House followed suit, and in a few minutes, both were asleep.

Six o'clock came quickly, but everyone felt better after their naps. Lydia knew the kids would be munching later, so she kept it light and made them bagels with peanut butter and apple slices. House, being hungry as always, dished out some salsa and chips. Wilson and Annie thought that was a good idea and pulled some out for themselves. Lydia stopped for an occasional chip.

"Dr. House, Mom told us that you lived in Germany for a while. Did you know her then?" asked Ben.

"No, I'm a little older than your mother. She was probably a baby when I was there."

"Why did you live there?" Now it was Elise's turn to play inquisitor.

"My dad was in the Marines. Just like your mom, I got dragged to the ends of the earth."

"Can you speak German?" It was Ben's question this time.

"Ja, ich spreche Deutsch. **Könnt ihr mich versteh'n** ?" The kids' mouth fell open.

"Dr. House said, 'Yes, I speak German. Can you understand me?'" Lydia explained.

"Wow," Ben said amazed. "Did you learn other languages from the countries where you lived?"

"Yep, six more and I know enough about six others to get by."

"I'm going to take Latin in school, 'cause you need it in medicine," said Ben.

"Good thinking," complimented House.

"Come on, kids…let's go have a party!" Lydia said. After clearing off the table, everyone pitched in with setting out cups, plates, soda bottles and all the other things that go with a party. The doorbell rang at seven forty-five; Tom, Marianne and their kids were the first to arrive. Lydia briefly introduced House and Wilson to Tom and Marianne's kids. Ben and Elise were anxious to show off their rooms, so the four of them disappeared down the hall.

"How was the pick-up at the airport?" Tom asked.

"If I hadn't promised Fraulein that I wouldn't do anything illegal, although well deserved, I'd be in jail right now," House told him.

"I don't want to repeat the story over and over, so I'll wait until the others get here and then tell you what happened," Lydia said shaking her head. She didn't have to wait long. At eight o'clock, members of House's team started to arrive, with all of them showing up within ten minutes of each other. Slick was the last to arrive.

"I like your place," he said to Lydia. "Annie, you live here too?"

"I have the apartment downstairs," she said. "At least I don't have to deal with too many stairs; there's an entrance from the garage that I can use."

"Yeah, the guy with the hole in his leg gets to do mountain climbing each time he enters," House complained.

"That's nothing compared to what I put my patients through," said Tom, giving House a look. House cringed as he put the chips and salsa on the coffee table.

"Thanks for the warning."

"There's soda, wine and beer over here," Lydia said pointing to a card table she had set up. "They'll be chips and things on the coffee table and hot food and shrimp here." As she pointed to the dining room table, she put the shrimp platter down.

"This all looks wonderful," Rachel Taub said.

"And it tastes good, too," her husband commented as he put a piece of fried zucchini in his mouth. Lydia had that, fried ravioli, and mini quiches that she brought in from the kitchen.

"The stuffed mushrooms and meat and cheese pinwheels will be out in a little bit," she said.

"How did you have the time to make all of this?" Foreman asked.

"I had an excellent assistant," she said looking at House as she sat down next to him on the love seat.

"So, tell us about the airport," Tom said. Lydia looked down the hall to make sure the kids were not within earshot. She then related what happened from finding the kids alone, to her ex's final exit out of her life, to Ben breaking down and questioning why his father hated them.

Oh, my God, my heart is breaking just listening to this," Marianne said. "I hope he rots in Hell…and sooner rather than later."

"You know, I'm glad Lydia made you promise not to get physical with him," Wilson said. "No offense, House but you are at a bit of a disadvantage."

"No, I actually had a huge advantage over him," said House, "Pure, unadulterated rage."

"I'm happy things worked out the way they did," Tom said. "You can relax and settle into things now." Lydia nodded.

"Hey, House, 'fess up," Foreman said. "You did not pick out the song that you and Lydia danced to, did you?" House looked at Lydia.

"You keep encouraging me to be Dudley Do-Right , but they always think of me as Snidely Whiplash," House complained. "For your information, I went to the king of mushy music," he said indicating Wilson, "and asked him for some suggestions. After listening to them on his iPod, I made the selection myself; 'Lady' by Jolly Rogers."

"Kenny Rogers," nearly everyone in the room said correcting him. Suddenly there was a commotion and the four kids came bounding down the hall.

"I was wondering when you would come out to meet everyone," Lydia said. Tommy and Shelly went over to their parents.

"Mom, can we have a sleepover tonight?" Tommy asked. He'd better be talking about Lydia's kids going to their house and not the other way around, House thought. He would like to finish what he started with Lydia this afternoon.

"Not tonight, I'm afraid. We have my cousin Claire's wedding to go to tomorrow and staying overnight in Pennsylvania. We'll work something out for another night," Marianne said. "Well, these are our kids, Tommy and Michelle, who likes to be called Shelly." Tommy was nine, but Ben was almost as tall as him; Shelly, who was five, bore a strong resemblance to her mother. They waved hello to all.

"And these are my pride and joy," Lydia said putting her hand on each one's shoulder. "Ben and Elise." She introduced Slick, House's team and Rachel to them.

"Hi!" Elise said waving her hand rapidly. Ben, as always was a bit more reserved.

"Are all of you doctors?" he asked. It seemed to House the kid never missed an opportunity to discuss medicine.

"Everyone except me," Rachel noted. Ben nodded.

"What kind…"

"Honey, I know you'd love to find out what kind of doctors they are, but they're off duty right now. When we go to the hospital on Monday, you can ask questions then," Lydia said. "If that timing would be OK?" She directed her question to Foreman.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. We have no meetings and House's team is still working Scotty's case, so it would probably be the best."

"Great; then it's definite for Monday," said Lydia to her smiling son.

"Dr. House, you said you would play the piano for us before, but you didn't. Could you do it now?" Elise asked.

"Elise, Dr. House is tired…" Lydia began.

"It's OK; I promised the kid." House rose from his seat, took a few steps when his leg gave out on him.

"Greg, are you OK?" Lydia asked coming over to him.

"I'm fine," he said in annoyed voice. "I overdid it outside today, that's all. Too much trying to do something I can't anymore." He got back on his feet and made it to the piano. He started by playing a fancy version of "Chopsticks" which the kids loved. Next he went to "Fur Elise" by Beethoven.

"That's my song!" said Elise. "Play one more, please," she said when the song was over.

"One means one," House said eyeing her up. He began to play a delicate song that was mainly played on the higher keys. It alternated with floating and sweeping passages, almost like those typically found in a music box.

"Greg, that was beautiful," Annie said when he finished. "I don't recognize it by name." House started to play it again.

"The first one was "Fur Elise"; this one is "Fur Lydia." Lydia slowly walked over, and sat beside House on the bench.

"What…?" She was too stunned to say much more.

"When I got out of Mayfield, I did everything I could to forget you, like that was going to happen. I took a cooking class with Wilson, tried annoying the crap out of Cuddy…but the only thing I enjoyed was music. So, I combined the two things that brought me any kind of pleasure: music and you." He finished the song with a run up the keyboard. Lydia had tears in her eyes as she put her arms around House's neck and gave him a kiss.

"One more, Dr. House, please?" This time it was Tommy making the request.

"Concert's over, Elvis has left the building," he said. He stood up and limped away from the piano.

"House, that was really nice," Thirteen said. He just nodded, but said nothing as he moved to the dining room. Lydia came up behind him.

"Can I get you something, Hon?" she asked quietly.

"No. I'm going outside for some fresh air," said House reaching for the door to the deck.

"I'll be out in a few minutes," Lydia replied. She went into the kitchen, and put several trays of cookies into the oven. Not seeing Annie anywhere, she asked Marianne to keep an eye on them. Lydia went out to the deck; House was there, hunched over, holding onto the railing.

"Are you OK? I know your leg…."

"It's not my leg," House said cutting her off. "I have a lot on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?" she asked gently. House picked his head up.

"Lydia…I'm…I'm sorry, but this is not going to work." Lydia was floored.

"Greg, what are you talking about? The kids have only been here a few hours. You can't possibly have formed an opinion already."

"I have. This…society seems to have at its core 'The Family Unit', in its various forms. All my life, I've mocked and ripped apart the institution and everything connected with it. Mainly because I never had it when I was a kid and as far as I could see, I was never going to have it. Now, the perfect opportunity to get it with the perfect person is laid out in front of me. But I can't do it…"

"Greg, no, please," Lydia pleaded "We can work this out. Look at everything we've been through to get here."

"I can't do it if I'm going to hold on to a place where I can go to and hide every time the crap hits the fan. I need to be here twenty-four seven. When one of them is throwing up at three in the morning, when your son gets in a fight at school or you need someone to bitch to about school or work…if I want to have any chance of having what society thinks is the ultimate prize, we have to do this together. This is probably the only chance I'll have at it, because I can't imagine that there are two of you in this world." House turned and looked at Lydia. "I love you far too much not to try."

"Are…you saying you…want to live together?" Lydia asked completely stunned..

"As long as we can find a place that can accommodate two pianos and two of a bunch of other things." House put his arms around Lydia. "I like your kids. I know I went on and on about how I thought things would go, but I'm wrong; they are not like the common tadpole. They're bright, sharp…fun even. And I can tell they have the same heart their mom does. They're making the new kid on the block," he said indicating himself, "feel more than welcomed." Lydia stood there, trying to comprehend what House was saying.

"You…you son-of-a-bitch," she said as she threw her arms around him. "You made me think you were breaking up with me."

"Good; that went as planned," House said. Lydia pulled back to look at him, and saw the evil twinkle in his eyes. "You didn't think I'd be able to just come out and ask you, did you?"

"No, I suppose not," she said as she ran her hand down his face. "Greg, you're really sure?" House sighed.

"I will never be sure about anything that makes me feel happy. Part of me will always be brooding, angry and miserable. I'll never be completely happy; but it has to do with my past, not anything in the present." House looked at Lydia. "Now if I could be sure I can get your kids to like me, I think we'd be in good shape. I guess we just have to take it one small step at a time."

"They like you. I had told them you wouldn't be sleeping here until they were comfortable with the idea. Ben and Elise came to me before, and said it's OK with them that you stay overnight." Lydia began to choke up. "Elise even said you're nice…in a weird sort of way." House scowled.

"I think that's the best backhanded compliment I've ever gotten." Lydia could see House was getting emotional. "I guess I'm not the evil creature everyone makes me out to be."

"No, you certainly are not." They kissed; once, twice…the joy of the moment getting to them.

"Oh, and don't worry about where Annie will live. Wilson's having the same conversation with her that we're having." Lydia smiled.

"Greg, that's wonderful! I am so unbelievably happy!" she said as she gave House a hug.

"I am, too," he said quietly. "Mainly the unbelievable part." He and Lydia starting kissing again when a voice interrupted them.

"Excuse me, you lovebirds," Annie said as she stuck her head out the door. "Do you think you could stop making out long enough to come in for some warm cookies?"

"No," House said and went back to kissing Lydia. "Oh, you mean _those_ cookies. We're coming right in."

"We are?" Lydia asked.

"You've made these cookies just once in a week. I can kiss you every single day." Lydia shook her head and took House's hand as they stepped into the house. Wilson was standing with Annie by the door, a big smile on his face.

"I think we have a few things to talk about tomorrow," he said.

"Let's keep it quiet for now. We don't need the tons of advice they'll all throw at us," noted House. The other three quickly agreed.

"House, need any help with the champagne?" Tom asked.

"Sure you can handle the kids' boring beverage." Laughing as he joined House in the kitchen, Tom saw that House was holding his leg again.

"Before we leave, I'm going to give you a sample of Celebrex. I looked at the last blood work that was done a few weeks ago; the results were really good, so I have no problem starting you on this now." Tom popped the top on the cider." You can't use any other nsaid, like Advil with it."

"Yeah, cox-2 inhibitors don't play nice with distant relatives. It's going to be hard to convince myself I only need one a day," House admitted.

"You can break them in half, take one half in the morning, one half at dinner. I'll call you Sunday when we get back from the wedding, but if you need me sooner, you have my cell number."

"Thanks," House said opening the second bottle of champagne.. Lydia brought in the kids' cups with lids so she could rinse them. When clean, Ton filled them and handed them out to the kids who had come into the living room.

"We're aiming for twelve-o-one, not midnight, correct?" Marianne asked.

"Yep," said House, keeping an eye on his cell. He had set a countdown timer on it "It's midnight." He glanced at Lydia and saw she was getting antsy. House began the final countdown out loud. "Three, two, one…"

"Welcome Home!" everyone shouted. Lydia put her drink on a nearby table; she did the same with kids' cups, and knelt down to hug them. The three of them were crying, realizing how important this moment was for them.

"I love you; I love you both so much," Lydia said through her tears.

"Love you, too," The children said together.

"So, he'll never be able to hurt us ever again?" Ben asked. The room fell silent at the heartbreaking question asked by Lydia's son.

"No, sweetie, he'll never come near you again."

"And if he is stupid enough to show his face around here," House said sitting on the arm of the loveseat, "I will make it clear to him that he is not welcomed." House began to slap the handle of his cane into his hand.

"So, now we have Dr. House," Elise said. Everyone looked at House to see his reaction.

"Curly Top, are you trying to tell me I'm stuck with you and Doogie Howser from now on?"

"Yeah…" she responded hesitantly. House smiled.

"Good." Elise threw her arms around House, Ben moved in closer. No, House was not comfortable hugging them, but he remembered yearning for some kind of loving touch as a child. House brought one arm around each of them, and while it wasn't exactly a hug, it was more of a touch than he thought he'd be able to give.

"Come on, let's go back to the game," Tommy said.

"What are you playing?" Annie asked.

" 'The Game of Life.' I have four kids," Elise said before running down the hall.

"Life is one hell of a game on many levels," noted Chase.

"Yeah, you never know what it's going to throw at you," said Thirteen.

"Well, Grandma, I think you told me you wanted to make a toast," House said to Lydia.

"Grandma?"

"Elise has four kids so…" She gave him a playful tap.

"Don't make me feel old," she admonished. "Yes, I did want to say something. It has been a long, incredible journey that has brought me to this moment. I know I could not have made it through without the love and support of my friends, both old and new. Most especially, I wouldn't have had the will to break free of the hell I was in, if it wasn't for the love of the most wonderful, amazing man I have ever known," Lydia said looking at House. She was beginning to cry. "I…I just…want… to…"

"German to English translation." said House. "Here's to new beginnings."

"To new beginnings," they all chimed in. Lydia was finally able to speak again when…

CRASH! BANG!

"MOMMY!" Lydia closed her eyes.

"Could you hold this for me, please?" she asked House. He took the glass and watched as she ran down the hall.

"What is going on in here?" she asked. House didn't bother to listen for the answer. He put his glass to his lips, and downed it in one gulp. He looked at Lydia's and did the same.

To new beginnings, House thought. One small step at a time.


	17. Chapter 17

"And the Children Will Lead"

Chapter Seventeen-"Epilogue from Wilson"

By: Purpleu

Hello, all…this is Wilson. Purpleu and the rest of us here in House's world, hope you enjoyed "And the Children Will Lead." Kids certainly had a prominent role in the story. It started with Slick and House forming a friendship as they watched Slick's nephew, Scotty, have brain surgery. It ended with Lydia's kids coming home to a safe haven at last. I have to admit, I get slightly jealous at all the attention Annie gives Ben and Elise. I don't always know how to take their closeness…damn! I'm starting to sound like House.

I'm glad that he decided to ask Lydia if she and the kids would live together with him. It gave me a good excuse to ask Annie to move in with me. I know, I know…it's only been just shy of two weeks since we met, but I know that this time is different…at least I hope it is. I can only imagine how badly House would bust my chops if I don't make this work. He'd say…well, I don't have to tell you. You know how he is.

By his own admission, Lydia makes House as happy as he is capable of being, which is a good thing, especially in this upcoming story called "Life and Limb." Purpleu asked me to keep it a secret…but I figured if I gave a couple of hints to a few of you, it won't do any harm. First, House and I get to enjoy another "guys night out." At this point, we've had several of them; the ladies don't mind and we don't mind taking advantage of that fact.

House's relationship with the kids continues to develop. I'm glad that he has Lydia as a sounding board, because he's trying to find the right balance between spoiling them…and becoming too much like his father. Lydia has been at work in the hospital for a while, and she is knocking everybody's socks off…yes, I know, House, especially yours. She's been balancing work, school, the kids, and her relationship with House with everyone's help. Even Thirteen and Chase babysat a couple of times! Everything's going well…maybe too well…

Tom has to decide how to approach House about what I understand is a bit of a delicate subject; I know it's about his leg, but…I hope it's nothing serious, he's been through enough. I hear from Purpleu that I figure prominently in this story; I'm flattered, but who knows what she's cooked up. We all know she can be evil every so often. Well, I'll take anything she throws at me…as long as I have Annie. *Sigh* How can you not fall in love with someone who knows all the lyrics to "I'm Into Something Good," by Herman's Hermits? I know I couldn't resist.

Oh, and House's patient? He's a fireman who comes in with a problem with his leg. It's a sensitive subject for House to start with, but as he and his team remain baffled at every turn, House reverts back to his old ways. There's just too much coming at him from different directions, including something from his past that reopens old wounds. Wait…Purpleu, what do you mean by, "His old ways?" I don't want to even think about it

Purpleu wanted me to tell her loyal readers that her first two eye operations went well, and she is scheduled to have the final one on May 14th. It won't keep her down for long, and she's trying to have the first chapter out on fanfiction by May 17th, maybe sooner if she can. She's really anxious to let you see where her fourth story is going. From what she's told me, I think I'm a little anxious, too.

Well, thanks for following House, Lydia, Annie and me and everyone else in House's world. Purpleu sends a big thanks, too.

See you soon!

Regards, Wilson


End file.
